2025 Systems Symposium Short Courses

These short courses will be offered on Monday 17 November 2025 in conjunction with the 2025 Directed Energy Systems Symposium. Continuous Learning Point (CLP) credits are awarded by DEPS for completion of the short courses.

Not all courses are open to all registrants. While all of the classes are unclassified, some have additional participation requirements, which are defined here and specified in the Classification section of each course description. Also see the Security section for this event.

Registration for these short courses requires payment of a fee. See Course Registration & Fees at the end of this page. Registration for a short course does not require registration for the Symposium.

Morning Courses

1. Wargaming Directed Energy (CUI/C)

Classification: CUI, Limited Distribution C

Instructor: Dr. Darl Lewis

Duration: Half-day course, runs 0800-1200

Credits awarded: 2 CLPs

Course Description:
This course introduces participants to types and applications of contemporary wargames, provides a history of wargaming, and proposes principles on capabilities and limitations of wargaming. It establishes a foundation in the roles, skills, and opportunities associated with wargaming using practical examples and mini exercises. The second part of the course presents processes used to organize, develop, and execute experimentation wargames for innovative and futuristic concepts, with a particular emphasis on development, adjudication, and analysis of directed energy concepts. It explores how organizations develop games from tactical through strategic levels to influence and inform next generation warfare, and it challenges participants to leverage their own expertise in identifying possibilities and pitfalls associated with bringing novel tools into the force mix.

Intended Audience: The course is designed for junior and senior technical engineers and managers who seek an understanding of experimentation wargaming and its application to support weapon system concept development and transition to the warfighter.

Instructor Biography: Dr. Darl Lewis is the Directed Energy Staff Specialist to United States Indo-Pacific Command, where he supports transition of directed energy capabilities from the lab into operational units. Dr. Lewis brings his understanding of physics, engineering, and policy perspectives into an operational mindset to maximize the military utility of the next-generation technologies in support of tomorrow's warfighters throughout the Joint and Coalition communities. Prior to INDOPACOM, Dr. Lewis was the Wargaming and Analysis Principal Investigator within the Air Force Research Laboratory's Directed Energy Directorate. In this role, Dr. Lewis led wargaming efforts alongside robust modeling, simulation, and analysis techniques to promote development game-changing directed energy technology.

2. Radiometry for Passive and Active Imaging (Open)

Classification: Unclassified, Public Release

Instructor: Ron Driggers, University of Arizona College of Optical Sciences

Duration: Half-day course, runs 0800-1200

Credits awarded: 2 CLPs

Course Description: This course covers the generation (sources and radiometry), propagation (radiometry), and measurement (detectors and radiometry) of optical radiation. The theory, units, approximations, instrumentation, and applications will be presented in detail. The course emphasizes passive and active imaging applications.
Learning Outcomes:

Understand how to measure optical radiation with physical (radiometric) and psychophysical (photometric) terms,
Understand the basic radiometric quantities and the various units (Watts and photons per second),
Know the types of sources, blackbodies, lasers, etc.,
Know the various type of detectors,
Be able to calculate noise and SNR arising from measurement, and
Understand the mathematical derivations behind the concepts in the course.

Topics to be covered include:

Radiometric Units
Transmission, Reflection, Absorption, Emission
Radiometric Power and Photon Transfer
Passive Imaging Radiometry
Active Imaging Radiometry
Resolved Radiometry
Unresolved Radiometry
Detectors and Sources of Noise
Signal to Noise Ratio
Applications of Radiometry in Active Targeting

Intended Audience: An undergraduate background in physics, science, or engineering is assumed. The student should have a rudimentary knowledge of applied mathematics (integration, differentiation, etc). The course should be useful to those working in or wanting to enter the technical areas of passive and/or active imaging. This course will teach the student how to derive the flux (Watts or photons per second) striking a target and returning to a detector so that a signal to noise ratio (SNR) can be determined. The detectors and noise sources will be covered at a basic level. Managers with some mathematics background will also benefit from the course.

Instructor Biography: Ronald G. Driggers is a Professor at the University of Arizona's College of Optical Sciences and works in the areas of electro-optical and infrared imaging systems. Previously, he was appointed to the Senior Executive Service as the Superintendent of the Optical Sciences Division at the Naval Research Laboratory in 2008. There, he managed the efforts of more than 200 scientists and engineers and over $100M in research and development programs. Before 2008, he was the Director of the Modeling and Simulation Division at the U.S. Army's Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD) and a brief period as the Chief of the Electro-Optics and Photonics Division at the Army Research Laboratory. Dr. Driggers received a doctorate in electrical engineering from the University of Memphis in 1990, is the author of five books on Infrared and Electro-Optics Systems and has published over 160 research papers. He was Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopedia of Optical Engineering (Taylor and Francis). He was selected as the 2002 Army Materiel Command's Engineer of the Year, 2001 CERDEC Technical Employee of the Year, and 2001 NVESD Technical Employee of the Year. He was a U.S. Naval Reserve Officer and was selected as the 2001 Naval Engineering Duty Officer of the Year (William Kastner Award). He is also a Fellow of the International Society for Optical Engineering, the Optical Society of America, and the Military Sensing Symposium. He was the Editor-in-Chief of SPIE's flagship journal, Optical Engineering from 2010-2015 and the Editor-in-Chief of the Optical Society of America's journal Applied Optics from 2015-2021. Dr. Driggers was awarded the Joseph Goodman book writing award (best optics related book) in 2024 for "Introduction to Infrared and Electro-Optical Systems."

3. Introduction to Counter DEW (CUI/C)

Classification: CUI, Limited Distribution C

Instructor: Mark Neice, Directed Energy Consultants LLC

Duration: Half-day course, runs 0800-1200

Credits awarded: 2 CLPs

Course Description:

Intended Audience:

Instructor Biography: Mark Neice is the President of Directed Energy Consultants, providing DE subject-matter expertise to the directed energy community. Mark is the former Executive Director of the Directed Energy Professional Society (DEPS). DEPS fosters research and development in Directed Energy, to include high-energy laser and high-power microwave technologies for national defense and civilian applications, through professional communication and education. Mr. Neice is formerly the Director of the High Energy Laser Joint Technology Office, working for the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Research and Engineering. There he supervised the research and development of solid-state, free electron & gas laser devices, beam control technologies, lethality analysis, and the modeling & simulation tools that create military applications of laser energy for combat operations. A command pilot, Col (ret) Neice has time in the 4950th Test Wing, and as initial cadre of the Joint Stars test team. He has over 7800 flying hours, mainly in the C-135 and B-707 variants, and is a member of the DoD Acquisition career force, certified in program management; test & evaluation; systems engineering; and science & technology management. Mark holds a Bachelor of Science in Enginerring Sciences from USAF Academy and a Masters of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Dayton.

4. Systems Engineering for DE Systems (CUI/C)

Classification: CUI, Limited Distribution C

Instructor: David Kiel, U.S. Navy (retired)

Duration: Half-day course, runs 0800-1200

Credits awarded: 2 CLPs

Course Description:

Intended Audience:

Instructor Biography:

Full Day Courses

5. Tri-Service HEL Lethality Testing & Modeling (CUI/D/NOFORN)

Classification: CUI, Limited Distribution D, U.S. Attendance Only

Instructors: Ronak Patel, NSWCDD and Michael Helle, NRL

Duration: Full-day course, runs 0800-1700

Credits awarded: 4 CLPs

Course Description: The Tri-Service Lethality short course consists of two distinct sessions as described below:

The Lethality Testing/Equipment Session will provide a discussion of all elements of HEL Lethality testing. The course will address data collection standards to be applied during the planning and execution of the test to assure meaningful and accurate data is collected. It will describe measurement techniques for measuring beam profile and other laser parameters during the execution of the test. Experimental test setup and processes will be described along with data acquisition requirements for targets, facility and test conditions as well as the instrumentation and equipment necessary to acquire those measurements. The testing session will conclude with a discussion of testing strategy for successful conduct of Dynamic Testing. This will include development of test matrices to describe all the key test parameters as well as techniques and methods to execute HEL Lethality full scale target testing.

The Modeling & Simulation Tools/Techniques Session will describe the models, codes and tools utilized to analyze and predict Laser System performance in a variety of ground-based, air-based and at-sea based scenarios. Model discussions will include high-fidelity physics based models as well as fast-running codes to provide vulnerability assessment for system level modeling codes. The high-fidelity modeling will describe the key parameters and the physics associated with laser / material interaction. Engineering-level modeling codes will be described that identifies the key target and laser parameters used to analyze a wide set of target scenarios and engagements. The full scope of end-to-end modeling will be described as used in DoD Analysis of Alternatives (AoA) decision processes. This session will be concluded with a description and demonstration of the HEL JTO published Laser Lethality Knowledge Base.

Intended Audience: Students attending this course should have an undergraduate degree in science or engineering. The course is tailored for the system program manager, system designer, and the lethality analyst who are interested in learning the full gamut of HEL lethality and target vulnerability analysis and testing. Experience in the field would be helpful but not necessary.

Instructor Biography: Mr. Ronak Patel is a Mechanical Engineer for the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD) Non-Kinetic Lethality Branch. He has 16 years of experience in high fidelity modeling and engineering modeling to support target vulnerability assessments and weapon system effectiveness. He leads the V&V efforts for all tests and continues to identify engineering model limitations. He also supports methodology improvements and facilitates the transition of methodology improvement into engineering model to improve model capability and accuracy. He holds a Bachelor in Mechatronics Engineering from S.P. University India and Master's in Mechanical Engineering from Virginia Commonwealth University.

6. Atmospheric Laser Propagation (CUI/C)

Classification: Unclassified, Limited Distribution C

Instructor: TBD

Duration: Full-day course, runs 0800-1700

Credits awarded: 4 CLPs

Course Description: This course addresses how to characterize and quantify the major effects of the atmosphere on directed energy weapons propagation. A first principles atmospheric propagation and characterization code called the Laser Environmental Effects Definition and Reference (LEEDR) is described and demonstrated. LEEDR enables the creation of climatologically- or numerical weather prediction (NWP)-derived vertical profiles of temperature, pressure, water vapor content, optical turbulence, and atmospheric particulates and hydrometeors as they relate to line-by-line or band-averaged layer extinction coefficient magnitude at any wavelength from 200 nm to 8.6 m. Applying those atmospheric effects to High Energy Lasers (HELs) is addresses by introducing and demonstrating a high-fidelity scaling-law HEL propagation coded called the High Energy Laser End-to-End Operational Simulation HELEEOS. The course outline is as follows:

Intro to atmospheric structure and constituents
- Atmospheric boundary layer
- Aerosol / fog / clouds
Atmospheric radiative / propagation effects
- Extinction, refraction
- Optical turbulence, scintillation
- Laser Environmental Effects Definition and Reference (LEEDR)
HEL thermal blooming effects in the atmosphere
Optics, beam control: turbulence / thermal blooming compensation
Coherent beam combining
High Energy Laser End to End Operational Simulation (HELEEOS)

Intended Audience: US Government personnel and their direct contractors who have program requirements for or are interested in methods and tools to assess realistic environments and environmental effects for HEL modeling and simulation, HEL mission planning, and/or military systems operations. The course assumes the students have some technical background in radiative transfer through the atmosphere--either via an undergraduate degree or career experience.

Instructor Biography: Instructor(s) TBD

Afternoon Courses

7. Introduction to LIDAR Remote Sensing (CUI/C)

Classification: Unclassified, Limited Distribution C

Instructor: Chris Valenta, Georgia Tech Research Institute

Duration: Half-day course, runs 1300-1700

Credits awarded: 2 CLPs

Course Description: Although LIght Detection And Ranging (LIDAR) systems have been around since the invention of the laser, these instruments have seen remarkable development and deployment in the past decade. From their use as part of the sensor suite for autonomous vehicles for navigation, to their use as an authentication mechanism for smart phones and tablets, and to their use as remote sensing instruments to help forecast weather and provide data for climate change research, LIDAR data products provide outstanding situational awareness for their users. This course provides an introduction to the fundamentals and the theory of LIDAR; their major components; optical, electrical, and mechanical performance analysis; applications; and data products.

At the end of the course, a successful student should be able to:

Explain how a LIDAR system operates and identify major components;
Analyze the performance of a LIDAR system and identify engineering tradeoffs;
Describe the different types of LIDARs and their applications; and
Understand how LIDARs can be used for directed energy applications.

This course was previously taught as a semester long undergraduate/graduate level course and a longer version is offered as a professional short course through Georgia Tech Professional Education.

Intended Audience: This course is primarily intended for engineers and scientists who have taken college level physics 2 who are looking to better understand LIDAR remote sensing technology. Additionally, managers and non-technical persons will also be able to take away a fundamental understanding of the underlying key technologies.

Instructor Biography: Dr. Christopher R. Valenta is a Principal Research Engineer and associate division head at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) Electro-Optical Systems Laboratory (EOSL) as well as an Adjunct Professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech. He has built and researched a variety of lidar systems including airborne topography and bathymetric, automotive, and a number of atmospheric lidar systems including aerosol, 3D wind, temperature, water vapor, and ozone, among others. Dr. Valenta is the winner of the 2015 IEEE Microwave Magazine Best Paper Award, a Georgia Tech 40 Under 40 winner, a 2020 SPIE Rising Researcher, and a registered professional engineer in the state of Georgia.

8. HPM Modeling and Simulation Tools for Test & Evaluation (CUI/D)

Classification: Unclassified, Limited Distribution D

Instructor: Walter Clover, Verus Research

Duration: Half-day course, runs 1300-1700

Credits awarded: 2 CLPs

Course Description:The Directed Energy Test & Evaluation Capability (DETEC) has developed two software tools to facilitate High Power Microwave (HPM) testing: HPM Test Hazard Prediction (THP) Tool and the HPM Target Surrogate Material (TSM) database. This short course presents an introduction to both. Drawing from propagation codes such as RF-PROTEC and the EMPIRE Suite, THP provides the T&E community with critical tools and information to mitigate safety and hazard risks to personnel and electronics during open-air tests of HPM systems. THP's essential functions include:

Support safety and regulatory compliance by calculating and displaying hazard boundaries
Prepare frequency clearance applications in Standard Frequency Action Format (SFAF)
Aid in identifying potential harmful effects to non-test site electronics
Display specific locations or boundaries with specified field levels

In this portion of the short course, students will see the code in action while instructors discuss: Modeling the Physical Scene, Specifying Scenario Input Parameters, Understanding & Selecting Propagation Models, Graphical Visualization and Output Products, Hazard Thresholds and Hazard Zones, Standard Frequency Action Format, Basic Weather and Atmosphere Models, transferring environmental data to THP, Loading and Using HPM Electric Field Sensor Data in THP. The TSM database is a browser based repository of information on hazardous materials as well as surrogates that can be substituted for these hazardous materials during HPM testing. The purpose of the tool is to provide the HPM T&E community with access to a database that contains information on hazardous materials, how to handle those materials during test, and commonly available materials that can be substituted for the hazardous materials. The TSM database's essential functions are to:

Access to the electromagnetic properties of hazardous materials
Suggestions for safe substitutes for those materials, to include electromagnetic properties
Test Range unique restrictions on hazardous materials
Hazardous material handling instructions, including cleanup procedures

In this portion of the short course, students will see TSM in action while instructors discuss: Finding the electromagnetic properties of a hazardous material; Finding a surrogate for the hazardous material; Making plots of material properties as a function of temperature and frequency; Entering new materials into the database; Extracting the original sources of the electromagnetic data.
DEMER: The Directed Energy Models and Effects Repository's (DEMER) was created to aid and encourage the distribution of and collaboration on directed energy (DE) modeling and simulation (M&S) tools and effects data throughout the wider DE community. An appropriate collaborative environment was established to provide for community wide discovery of DE tools and effects data which balances security with utility. The distribution format ensures owners and creators the freedom of development for, and confidence in the ownership of, their products. To reach this end, DEMER's overarching philosophy will be "Local Management, Enterprise Discovery". DEMER is a secure web-based card catalog of meta-data files describing the current M&S capabilities and effects testing efforts. Using a meta-data format favors autonomy for resource owners by only describing pertinent details of their products, without surrendering control to a centralized database. The repository also provides the capability for members and agencies to catalog and organize their M&S and effects testing products internally, only sharing with the wider community those products they deem appropriate. In this portion of the short course, students will be given a walk-through tutorial on how to register and use the DEMER database.
HPM PULSE: The High Power Microwave Procedures Leading to Standardized Effects (HPM PULSE) is a guidebook designed to standardize HPM effects testing and is meant to be used by both experienced and novice effects test personnel. It provides best practices and useful information on common aspects of HPM effects testing. The information included in HPM PULSE will aid personnel with test design and setup, as well as provide various quick reference charts, formulas, and other background information for use during the test execution. During this portion of the short course, students will receive an overview of the HPM PULSE guidebook to better understand how it can be used to aid in conducting HPM effects tests.

Intended Audience: The intended users of these HPM tools are test planners, spectrum managers, range safety personnel, test technicians or engineers, and environmental personnel involved in HPM testing.

Instructor Biography:

9. Directed Energy Weapons System Modular Open Systems Approach (CUI/D)

Classification: Unclassified, Limited Distribution D

Instructor: Grace Unangst, MITRE

Duration: Half-day course, runs 1300-1700

Credits awarded: 2 CLPs

Course Description: This course will cover the following topics:

The objectives of MOSA
- What this means to the program manager and lead engineer
How do you implement MOSA on a DE program?
- Define modules
- Define and standardize interfaces
- Develop test plan to ensure interoperability
Examples of service specific reference architectures
- Army, Navy, Air Force
Recent policy changes and their impact

Intended Audience: US Government personnel and their contractors who are interested in the fundamental skills required to achieve efficient definition, analysis, synthesis, evaluation and realization of directed energy systems. The course is designed for decision makers, systems engineers, operations research analysts, program managers and domain experts who are interested in learning how implementation of Modular Open Systems Architecture policies and procedures affect systems engineering efforts for DE systems.

Instructor Biography: Grace Unangst is a Lead Systems Engineer at MITRE with 14 years of experience working on Navy Programs, and nine years of experience with Directed Energy. Grace is the Task Lead for MITRE's Directed Energy Weapon System Modular Open Systems Approach Reference Architecture, and Chair of the DEWS Subcommittee within the Sensor Open Systems Architecture Consortium. Grace also leads MITRE's support to the Office of Naval Research for the High Energy Laser Counter-ASCM Project. Grace previously worked on Solid State Laser-Technology Maturation, the Gun Launched Guided Projectile Block 0, Solid State Laser Simulation Experiments, and the Hypervelocity Projectile. In addition to Directed Energy, Grace has experience with Submarine Combat Systems, the NATO Evolved Seasparrow Missile System, Littoral Combat Ships, and Electronic Warfare. Grace received a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Virginia, and a Master of Science in Systems Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

10. Golden Dome (CUI/C)

Classification: Unclassified, Limited Distribution C

Instructor: Bonnie Johnson, Naval Postgraduate School

Duration: Half-day course, runs 1300-1700

Credits awarded: 2 CLPs

Course Description:

Intended Audience:

Instructor Biography:

Course Fees
	Half-day Courses	Full-day Course
Flat Fee	$300	$550
Note: Two half day classes can be selected for the price of a full-day class.

Persons requesting cancellation through 20 October will receive a full refund. Cancellations after 20 October are subject to a $100 cancellation fee. No refunds will be given for canceled short courses after 10 November.

Last updated: 2 December 2024