Short Courses
The following short courses were offered on Monday, 20 May in conjunction with the
2024 Annual Directed Energy Science & Technology Symposium.
Continuous Learning Point (CLP) credits were awarded for completion of the short courses.
Course 1. Introduction to High Energy Laser Systems
Classification: Unclassified, Public Release (Dist A)
Instructor: Mark Neice, DEPS
Duration: Half-day course, 0800 to 1200
Credits awarded: 2 CLPs
Course Description: This lecture will introduce the field of HEL weapons and their associated technologies
using an interweaving of technical requirements, history, and accomplishments. The basic attributes of HEL weapons will be
covered, leading into discussions of laser-material interaction, lethality, potential weapon applications, system requirements,
laser power scaling, propagation, and beam control. DoD interest in tactical applications, current technical issues, and areas
of research emphasis will be highlighted.
Intended Audience: This course is geared to those with a technical background who seek an overview of HEL
technology and the current state of the art. Individuals who are beginning to work in the field or technical managers who
wish an integrated overview would benefit from the class.
Instructor Biography:
Course 2. Introduction to High Power Microwave Systems
Classification: Unclassified, Public Release (Dist A)
Instructor: Douglas Wilson, NSWCDD
Duration: Half-day course, 0800-1200
Credits awarded: 2 CLPs
Course Description:
This course will provide an introduction to RF Directed Energy weapons, also known as
High Power Microwave (HPM) weapons. The course consists of five parts: 1) a general introduction to the basic terms
and concepts, 2) prime power and pulsed power systems needed to drive HPM devices, 3) HPM sources to include concepts
and examples, 4) HPM narrowband and wideband antennas, and 5) design and fabrication of HPM systems.
At the end of the class, students will know what RF-DEWs are and how they differ from classical Electronic Warfare
and nuclear EMP. Students will learn the various ways to design and develop HPM subsystems to include the fundamental
concepts through the practical construction of such systems (science and engineering). Technology discussions will
show the difference between narrow band (NB) and ultra-wide band (UWB) sources, antennas and diagnostics, as well as
the principal elements of the power systems needed to support them. The course concludes with a examples of HPM systems
developed in the recent years. Topics to be covered include:
- Definitions, motivation, notional concepts
- Technology - Power Sources and Power Conditioning, Microwave Oscillators, Antennas, Diagnostics
- System level design for multiple application
Intended Audience: Newcomers to the field of RF-DEW or managers with some background in science and engineering
will benefit the most from this course.
Instructor Biography: Dr. Wilson received his BS in Physics from Virginia Tech in 2013 and his Ph.D.
in Materials Science and Engineering at Florida State University in 2017. His doctoral research at the National
High Magnetic Field Lab’s Condensed Matter Physics group involved using nuclear magnetic resonance to
investigate the superconducting and charge density wave phases of NbSe2 (niobium diselenide). Shortly after
defending, Dr. Wilson was hired as a physicist at NSWC Dahlgren in 2018 to work on two simultaneous efforts
exploring the use of high-power RF to pre-detonate and dud improvised explosive devices (IEDs) for Counter-IED
systems. Afterwards, he acquired expertise in computational electromagnetics modeling and simulation and
transitioned into a HPM antenna design engineer role. Dr. Wilson now has multiple HPM antenna and waveguide
component designs under his belt and 3 patents submitted from inventions developed at NSWC Dahlgren.
Course 3. Introduction to Beam Control
Classification: Unclassified, Public Release (Dist A)
Instructor: Mark Spencer, OUSD(R&E)
Duration: Half-day course, runs 0800-1200
Credits awarded: 2 CLPs
Course Description: This half-day course closely follows the material presented in six
chapters of a recently published DEPS textbook entitled: "Beam Control for Laser Systems, 2nd Edition."
By the end of this course, the interested student will have been exposed to beam-control topics ranging
from optics fundamentals to adaptive optics (see the full list below). Thus, the interested student
will have been exposed to the introductory material needed to become independent learners with respect
to beam-control technology.
Please note that students completing this course will be able to purchase a copy of
"Beam Control for Laser Systems, 2nd Edition" at a significantly reduced
cost. The material presented in this textbook is tutorial in nature with exercises
found at the back of each chapter. A companion CD also provides solutions with MATLAB code for these
exercises.
Topics to be covered include:
- Optics fundamentals (Chapter 2)
- Systems engineering (Chapter 3)
- Classical controls (Chapter 5)
- Modern controls (Chapter 6)
- Optical train Components (Chapter 11)
- Adaptive optics (Chapter 14)
Intended Audience: This course is for the working professional. Both technical personnel
and program managers will benefit from the material presented. With that said, the material presented
assumes an undergraduate education in science and engineering.
Instructor Biography: Dr. Mark F. Spencer is the Director of the Joint Directed Energy
Transition Office (JDETO) within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and
Engineering (OUSD(R&E)). Mark is also an Adjunct Associate Professor of Optical Sciences and
Engineering at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) within the Department of Engineering
Physics. He is an active member of the Directed Energy Professional Society (DEPS), a senior member
of Optica (the society advancing optics and photonics worldwide), and a fellow of SPIE (the
international society for optics and photonics).
Course 4. Directed Energy Systems Engineering
Classification: Unclassified, Public Release (Dist A)
Instructor: Robert M. Newton, USAF, Retired
Duration: Half-day course, runs 0800-1200
Credits awarded: 2 CLPs
Course Description: This introductory course is designed to provide an appreciation of
Systems Engineering in the pursuit of the Directed Energy (DE) Weapons revolution. After many
decades of Research & Development, emerging DE weapons systems must navigate the technology's
"valley of death" through thoughtful application of Systems Engineering principles to successfully
field new warfighter capabilities.
The course will introduce the principles of Systems Engineering, define DE's High Energy Lasers
(HEL) and High-Power Microwave (HPM) Systems, then review DoD guidance and tools in the context
of the warfighters' missions. Conceptual HEL/HPM applications will provide instantiation examples
and enable interactive discussions.
At the end of the course, attendees will be better able to craft their programs to leverage
proven DoD SE processes and effectively integrate into existing and future DoD weapons systems/networks.
The course will cover the Systems Engineering Process throughout the Lifecycle.
Topics to be covered in this course include:
- The Big Picture/Overview
- DE Weapon Systems Definitions: HEL & HPM
- Military Requirements and User Interactions
- DoD SE Guides to include Mission Engineering (ME), Digital Engineering, System-of-Systems (SoS), Modular Open Systems Architecture (MOSA), Software Engineering (SWE), and The Software Acquisition Pathway
- Systems Architecture and its application to DE Systems
- Tools to Enable Engineering Success: Modeling & Simulation (M&S) and How M&S supports DoD Processes
- Testing as an Integral Part of SE: the Different Types of Test & Evaluation (T&E)
- SE for High Energy Laser Weapon System Integration and T&E
- SE for HPM Weapon Systems and T&E
Intended Audience: This course is open to the public and requires no specific background
as it is general in nature, but rich in helping to understand the fundamental concepts of DE
Weapon Systems and how to apply System Engineering processes.
Instructor Biography: Bob Newton is an advanced systems developer with nearly 20-year
DE experience. Currently he leads a defense technology company in applying his over 35-years of
US Air Force and commercial industry experience. Beginning with a technical education in Aerospace
Engineering from The Ohio State University and the Georgia Institute of Technology, his mission
perspective comes from F-16 fighter and special operations. He is an acquisition professional and
test pilot with over 4500 hours in over 60 types of aircraft. His specific acquisition related
responsibilities involved F-16 performance / flying qualities / avionics / sensors / weapons
flight test and airworthiness certification, F-22 program management, Air Force Material Command
headquarters, Pentagon Air Staff, and industry. He has commanded flying units and is a veteran of
Operations ENDURING FREEDOM and IRAQI FREEDOM.
Course 5. Atmospheric Laser Propagation
Classification: Unclassified, Limited Distribution C
Instructors:
- Steven Fiorino, AFIT
- Jaclyn Schmidt, AFIT
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 Biographies: Steven T. Fiorino received his BS degrees in geography and
meteorology from Ohio State (1987) and Florida State (1989) universities. He additionally holds
an MS in atmospheric dynamics from Ohio State (1993) and a PhD in physical meteorology from
Florida State (2002). He is a retired USAF Lt Col who is currently a Professor of Atmospheric
Physics within the Engineering Physics Department at AFIT and is the Director of the AFIT Center
for Directed Energy. His research interests include microwave remote sensing, development of
weather signal processing algorithms, and atmospheric effects on military systems such as
high-energy lasers and weapons of mass destruction. Dr. Fiorino is a member of SPIE, AMS, AIAA,
OSA, and DEPS.
Jaclyn E. Schmidt received her BS degree in meteorology (2010) from the University of South
Alabama, and her professional career is rooted in atmospheric and oceanographic data analysis for
DoD and military service support, including NOAA's National Data Buoy Center and the Naval
Oceanographic Office. She is currently the Laser Environmental Effects Definition and Reference
(LEEDR) POC for the Center for Directed Energy (CDE) at the Air Force Institute of Technology
(AFIT). Her research interests include numerical weather modeling, aerosol effects on radiative
transfer, and enhancements to modeling and simulations tools as they relate to the directed
energy and intelligence communities. She is a member of DEPS and AMS.
Course 6. Optics and Coatings for HEL Systems
Classification: Unclassified, Public Release (Dist A)
Instructor: Albert Ogloza, Mantech
Duration: Half-day course, runs 1300-1700
Credits awarded: 2 CLPs
Course Description: This course is a broad overview of High Power Optics and Optical Thin
Film Coatings for Directed Energy Weapons (DEW) and their impact on High Energy Laser (HEL) weapon
system performance. The course will cover the critical optical subsystems, the individual optic
components and the types of optical thin film coatings that are required. The key technology to
any HEL system is the Optical Thin Film Coatings. This course will focus on the Optical Thin
Film Coatings, and their impact on the HEL system. The course will also cover issues associated
with Optical Thin Film Coating testing, performance validation process and testing protocols.
Topics include the following.
- HEL Optical Subsystems
- HEL Optical Components
- Optical Component Substrates
- Impact on Optical Thin Film Performance
- Optical Substrate Fabrication
- Substrate Impact on Optical Thin Film Deposition
- Impact to HEL Performance
- HEL Optical Thin Film Coatings
- Optical Thin Film Coating Types
- HEL Thin Film Applications
- HEL Optical Thin Film Material Requirements
- HEL Optical Components Thin Film Coating Testing
Intended Audience: This course is intended for a broad range of High Energy Laser
Professionals that are interested in HEL system design, performance optimization, system SWAP,
reliability, and survivability. The course assumes that the student has some science/engineering
background, however it is not critical. Every level of an HEL Engineering team and HEL optical
component producers should benefit from this course as it explores the interplay between HEL system
design, fabrication and ultimate performance.
Instructor Biography: Albert Ogloza is a Fellow at ManTech International and a SETA to
the Joint Directed Energy Transition Office (JDETO). In his current role at the JDETO, he serves
as a Chief Scientist due to his broad experience with high energy laser (HEL) systems and optical
component development. His optical thin film coating development and testing experience covers over
37 years, supporting developments from the Navy’s MIRACL/SLBD HEL system to the current JDETO HEL
Scaling Initiative.
Course 7. High Power Microwave Directed Energy Weapons and Their Effects
Classification: Unclassified, Limited Distribution C
Instructor: John Tatum, SURVICE Engineering Company
Day/Time: Half-day course, runs 1300-1700
Credits awarded: 2 CLPs
Course Description: This course is an introductory course to High Power Radio Frequency/Microwave
(HPM) Directed Energy Weapons (DEW) and their effects. The course will cover what HPM weapons are, the type
of weapons – Narrowband and Wideband, how the weapons are like, but different from traditional Electronic
Warfare (EW) and Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP), how the HPM energy couples in to a target’s electronics and
their effects. The course will also cover some of the basic modeling and simulation tools for computing
estimating the probability of target failure as a function of weapon power density and range. Finally,
we will show an example of how to determine hardening requirements for a notional helicopter against an
HPM weapon.
Intended Audience: This course is intended for those individuals that are looking for an
introduction to High Power Microwave Directed Energy Weapons and their effects on target systems. The
course assumes that the student has some science/engineering background and understands Radio
Frequency/microwave theory and techniques.
Instructor Biography: John T. Tatum is an electronic systems engineer working for the SURVICE
Engineering Company as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) in the areas of Electronic Warfare (EW) and Radio
Frequency Directed Energy Weapons (RF DEWs). He also acts as a SME for the Defense Systems Information
Analysis Center (DSIAC) and provides information on RF DEW technology and effects. Before SURVICE he
worked 36+ years at the US Army Research Laboratory (ARL) in Adelphi, Md. {formerly Harry Diamond
Laboratories (HDL)} in ARL’s RF Electronics Division where he directed and participates in High Power
RF/Microwave (HPM) effects investigations on military systems and supporting infrastructure. Mr. Tatum
also investigated the feasibility and effectiveness of RF DEW for Army applications. Mr. Tatum was the
Army chairman of the RF DE JMEM Working Group and chaired RF Effects Panel for the OSD Technology Panel
on DEW. He is a fellow of the Directed Energy Professional Society (DEPS) and has published several
papers on RF susceptibility assessments, system effects investigations and effects databases in both DoD
and IEEE conferences. Mr. Tatum recently published a book entitled “Radio Frequency Directed Energy Systems
and their Effects” that is based on the short course he teaches for DEPS.
Course 8. Laser Weapon System Thermal Management
Classification: Unclassified, Limited Distribution D
Instructors:
- Dr. Sean Ross, AFRL/RDMP
- J. Dana Teague, AFRL/RDLA
Duration: Half-day course, runs 1300-1700
Credits awarded: 2 CLPs
Course Description: High Energy Lasers obey the laws of thermodynamics... just like
everything else! Come and learn the reasons why the laser subsystem might only occupy 15% of the
size and weight of a laser weapon system but drives the size and weight of two-thirds of the
system size and weight. We will cover basic heat transfer mechanisms and the "tools in the
toolbox" available to the laser designer and the principles of laser-thermal co-design necessary
for any application in a size and weight constrained environment.
Intended Audience: Intended audience is anyone involved in laser subsystem or laser
weapon system design or development. There will be limited algebraic mathematics so the course
will be friendly to both technical and non-technical attendees.
Instructor Biographies: Dr. Sean Ross is currently the Lead Program Manager for Directed
Energy Prototyping for the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center. He has worked in Directed Energy
since 1994 and has been the Deputy High Energy Laser Technical, the Directed Energy Program Element
Monitor, lead the creation of the Environmental Laser Test Facility and has worked on numerous laser
source development projects. He is the author of “Laser Beam Quality Metrics” textbook and frequently
teaches courses on the subject. He is a DEPS Fellow and has served as a board member of the Directed
Energy Professional Society. He has been involved in power, thermal, structural and other
high-energy laser integration issues for over a decade and has led the expansion of technology
readiness level to include system, organizational and integration concepts. Dr. Ross holds a BS and
MS in Physics from Brigham Young University and a PhD in Optical Science and Engineering from the
Center for Research and Education in Optics and Lasers, College of Optics and Photonics.
Dana Teague is the Power, Thermal, and Energy Storage Lead for AFRL/RDL and has over 12 years of
experience supporting HEL systems. He started as the Platform Engineer for DLWS, moved on to be the
Power Subsystem Lead for SHiELD, and now supports programs across DoD on power and thermal matters. He
received his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, and
his Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of New Mexico. In addition to monitoring
and developing HEL power and thermal subsystem architectures, he develops novel concepts for photoconductive
semiconductor switches.
Course 9. Directed Energy Bioeffects
Classification: Unclassified, Limited Distribution C
Instructors:
- Jason Payne, AFRL
- Joel Bixler, AFRL
Duration: Half-day course, runs 1300-1700
Credits awarded: 2 CLPs
Course Description: This course will present and discuss the effects of optical and radio frequency energy
upon biological systems. With the proliferation of directed energy (DE) sources in the military environment there
is increasing need for understanding DE bioeffects to protecting our troops from incidental or intentional exposure.
We will present the mechanisms through which biology may be affected by DE and the power levels required to produce
effects. This information will be set within a safety, legal, and policy context to illuminate the challenges faced
by DE systems as they navigate the acquisition environment. Topics include:
- Why is the Department of Defense Interested in Directed Energy Bioeffects?
- Laser Bioeffects
- Applications and Considerations
- Modeling Hazards and Assessing Effectiveness
- Mechanisms of Damage for tissues
- Eye Vs. Skin
- Long Exposures
- Moderate Length Exposures
- Short Pulse Exposures
- Special Considerations
- Laser Summary
- RF Bioeffects
- Damage Mechanisms and Modeling
- Dosimetry
- RF Case Studies
Intended Audience: This course is intended for anyone interested in the biological effects
of laser and radiovfrequency energy. Rigorous scientific directed energy bioeffects information
will be presented in a context of safety, legal, and systems development
Instructor Biographies: Mr. Jason Payne is the Core Research Area (CRA) lead for Directed Energy Bioeffects Modeling, Simulation, and Analysis for the Bioeffects Division
(RHD) within the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). His research is focused on computational modeling and simulation (M&S) of DE-tissue interaction,
with a specific interest in dosimetry and thermal models for High Power Microwave and Millimeter Wave exposures. As part of this research, the RHD
M&S team has developed high-fidelity anatomical body models that can be coupled to physics-level simulation tools to predict the patterns of
electromagnetic (EM) energy absorption within the body. Mr. Payne leads a team of scientists and engineers who research and develop theories and
approaches to couple these EM calculations to biological effects algorithms. The data derived from these physics-level simulations are actively
being collated for use within Air Force and DoD level software frameworks for Mission and Engagement level simulations.
Course 10. DE Warfighter 101
Classification: Unclassified, Distribution Limitation A
Instructors: Robert M. Newton, USAF, Retired
Duration: Half-day course, runs 1300-1700
Credits awarded: 2 CLPs
Course Description: This course is an introductory course on Directed Energy Weapons, including High Energy Laser (HEL)
Weapons and High-Power Microwave (HPM) Weapons. The course does not teach the scientific equations or “how to build” a Directed
Energy Weapon, nor does it assume the student has any technical background or experience. This course provides basic principles of
understanding that most people from any type of educational background can grasp and understand.
Since Directed Energy Weapon Systems are nearing operational use, the emphasis is on the operationally distinguishing
characteristics of HEL/HPM systems nearing deployment. Consequently, this course was designed for warfighters, so it also
places Directed Energy Weapons into the context of military operations and applications. As HEL and HPM weapon systems are
rapidly maturing and now entering warfighter field trials in operational conditions, it is also important that program managers,
logisticians, politicians, and other non-scientific background Department of Defense and/or defense contractor personnel better
understand Directed Energy Weapons in a more practical way. Therefore, this HEL/HPM course transforms the complex science involved
into more simplified and easier to understand terms and examples. This is to help people without a technical education be able to
better grasp what the Directed Energy Weapons are (and what they are not, i.e., "Myth Busting"), and how they might be employed to
complement the current arsenal of Kinetic Energy Weapons (i.e., missiles, rockets, bombs, bullets, etc.). This course may also be
helpful to scientists and engineers who already have a background in one type of Directed Energy Weapon System (e.g., HEL), but
now are interested in learning the basics of another type of Directed Energy Weapon System (e.g., HPM) due to a change in assignment
or just because they simply want to broaden their knowledge background. The course also provides some real-world examples from past
HEL and HPM weapon systems programs, including pictures and videos.
Intended Audience: This course is intended for students without a technical background and serves as a basic introduction
to the operational characteristics of HEL and HPM weapon systems.
Instructor Biography: Bob Newton is an advanced systems developer with nearly 20-year DE experience. Currently he leads a defense technology company in
applying his over 35-years of US Air Force and commercial industry experience. Beginning with a technical education in Aerospace
Engineering from The Ohio State University and the Georgia Institute of Technology, his mission perspective comes from F-16 fighter
and special operations. He is an acquisition professional and test pilot with over 4500 hours in over 60 types of aircraft. His
specific acquisition related responsibilities involved F-16 performance / flying qualities / avionics / sensors / weapons flight
test and airworthiness certification, F-22 program management, Air Force Material Command headquarters, Pentagon Air Staff, and
industry. He has commanded flying units and is a veteran of Operations ENDURING FREEDOM and IRAQI FREEDOM.
Last updated: 5 July 2024
