DIRECTED ENERGY PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY


Annual Directed Energy
Science and Technology Symposium
20-24 May 2024 Colorado Springs, CO



Overview

Final Conference Agenda

Short Courses

Symposium Contacts

DE Education Workshop

 

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.


    Morning Courses

  1. Introduction to HEL Systems (Dist A)

  2. Introduction to HPM Systems (Dist A)

  3. Introduction to Beam Control (Dist A)

  4. DE Systems Engineering (Dist A)
    Full-Day Course

  1. Atmospheric Laser Propagation (Dist C)

    Afternoon Courses

  1. Optics and Coatings for HEL Systems (Dist A)

  2. HPM Weapons and their Effects (Dist C)

  3. Laser Weapon System Thermal Management (Dist D)

  4. DE Bioeffects (Dist C)

  5. DE Warfighter 101 (Dist A)


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
    • whole body
    • skin
    • eyes
  • 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.

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