Course Details Registration & Fees These short courses are being offered in conjunction with the UK/US Directed Energy Workshop, to be held 12-16 June 2017 in Swindon, United Kingdom. Continuing Education Unit (CEU) credits will be awarded upon successful completion of these short courses.
Course 1. Introduction to High Energy Laser Systems
Classification: Unclassified, Public Release
Instructors: Day/Time: Monday, 12 June; 1300-1700
CEUs awarded: 0.35
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 Biographies: Matthew A. Leigh is currently serving as the Navy Representative to HEL-JTO.
He earned a BS in physics from Brigham Young University, and a PhD in physics from the University of Arizona.
His dissertation research focused on pulsed fiber lasers, advised by Nasser Peyghambarian. He has worked on multiple
high energy laser programs at the Naval Surface Warfare Center - Dahlgren Division, and is helping develop next
generation HEL technology at JTO. Dr. Harro Ackerman is a senior staff member of the High Energy Laser Joint Technology Office. Course 2. Introduction to RF Systems Classification: Unclassified, Limited Distribution C (US), Confidential (UK) Instructors: Day/Time: Monday, 12 June; 1300-1700 CEUs awarded: 0.35 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 four parts: 1) a general introduction to the basic terms and concepts, 2) a discussion of the varous types of effects that can be induced and how they are characterized, 3) the technologies that enable RF-DEW weaponization, and 4) hardening techniques and technologies. 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 in which microwaves couple into a target (i.e., front door/back door, in-band/out-of-band) and some of the many sorts of effects that they can precipitate. 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 discussion of hardening techniques and technologies. Topics to be covered include:
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 Biographies: Mary Lou Robinson is Division Chief for the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory’s High Power Electromagnetic research and development work at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, NM. She leads over 80 military and civilians in executing roughly $50 million per year to transition technologies to improve U.S national security capabilities. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of New Mexico, and an aerospace-focused MBA from the University of Tennessee. Sterling Beeson is currently a Research Electronics Engineer at the Air For Research Laboratory in Albuquerque, NM, USA. He works in the Directed Energy Directorate under the High Power Electromagnetic Division where he conducts research on HPEM sources and systems. He received a BS in Applied Physics from Angelo State University and a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Texas Tech University. His dissertation topic was on pulsed RF generated plasmas with an emphasis on pulsed power, low temperature plasma physics, and microwave engineering. Course 3. Atmospheric Laser Propagation Classification: Unclassified, Limited Distribution C (US), Confidential (UK) Instructors: Day/Time: Monday, 12 June; 1300-1700 CEUs awarded: 0.35 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:
While not absolutely necessary, students are strongly encouraged to attend with a laptop so that they may install the LEEDR software and follow along with the demonstrations. The laptops should be windows machines (XP or Vista or Mac's with windows emulators), and the users should have administrative rights for those machines. Intended Audience: US Government and UK MOD 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 Air Force Lieutenant Colonel with 21 years of service and currently a research associate professor of atmospheric physics within the Engineering Physics Department at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) and is the director of the 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. Major James Bowers graduated from NCSU with a BS degree in Aerospace Engineering in May of 2004. Maj Bowers received his commission into the USAF in May 2004, through AFROTC at NCSU. Following graduation, he was assigned to the Air Force Research Laboratory Air Vehicles Directorate (AFRL/RB). He spent two years with the Computational Sciences Branch and then the Aerodynamic Configuration Branch where he served as a program manager for Aero-Structural Efficiency technology. His last year with AFRL/RB was spent as Directorate Executive Officer. Following his assignment with AFRL/RB, he successfully graduated from AFIT with an MS in Applied Physics. Following his AFIT MS, he was assigned to the 453rd Electronic Warfare Squadron (453 EWS) at Lackland AFB, Texas. Maj Bowers is now a PhD candidate at AFIT in Optical Science and Engineering. Course 4. HPM Effects and Data Collection Classification: Unclassified, Limited Distribution C (US), Confidential (UK) Instructor:Timothy Clarke, Air Force Research Laboratory Day/Time: Friday, 16 June; 0800-1200 CEUs awarded: 0.35 Course Description: This course will provide a basic overview of Radio Frequency Directed Energy (RF DE) and its effects on electronic systems. The course will cover what RF DE is, how it is similar to but different from classic Electronic Warfare (EW) and Nuclear generated Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP), and how it penetrates targets systems and produces effects ranging from temporary interference to permanent damage. We will also discuss the statistical nature of RF coupling to electronics and effects and how effect levels are best described as a probability of effect or failure. Finally we will describe some RF effects models and how they can be used to estimate probability of target effect. Topics include:
Intended Audience: The course is intended for anyone who wants to learn to the basics of RF DE and how it effects on electronics, Even though it does not require a bachelor's degree in science or engineering, it is meant for individual with some back ground in science or engineering and/or in technical program management. Instructor Biography:Dr. Timothy Clarke is the High Power Electromagnetics (HPEM) Effects Program Manager at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. He has worked in the area of HPEM for about 15 years. His PhD is from the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, Cambridge University. Course 5. Introduction to HEL Lethality Science Classification: Unclassified, Limited Distribution C (US), Confidential (UK) Instructors: Day/Time: Friday, 16 June; 0800-1600 (full day course) CEUs awarded: 0.55 Course Description: The 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 techniques for measuring laser parameters such as power and beam profile 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 conducting remote 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 Session will describe the key physics associated with laser-material interaction modeling as it applies to laser lethality. The fundamental equations, boundary conditions, input data, analytical and numerical modeling approaches will be reviewed. A summary will be provided of various models, codes and tools used to analyze and predict target effects during HEL engagement. In addition, an overview of the target vulnerability assessment process will be provided in the context of generating target effects data for mission level simulations. 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 Biographies: Mr. Robert Ulibarri is a Senior General Engineer with AFRL working in the laser effects branch. He has been involved in effects testing and analysis for over 15 years specifically supporting numerous efforts including the ABL program. He is currently leading the evaluation of tactical targets of interest to the Air Force specifically focusing on AFRL SHiLED ATD program. He has conducted numerous laser effects field tests at such facilities as HELSTF and AEDC. He is currently supporting numerous customers including the JTO as well as the upcoming JLaSE effort funded by DOT&E. He has a Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of New Mexico. Mr. Darren Luke is a Senior Research Engineer for the Air Force Research Laboratory, Laser Effects, Modeling and Simulation Branch. He holds a BS and MS degree in Structural Engineering and is currently a PhD candidate in Engineering at the University of New. He has 13 years of experience in high fidelity model development for laser effects applications with an emphasis in thermal transport, laser-material interaction, high temperature progressive damage plasticity, fracture mechanics, fluid dynamics, V&V methods, uncertainty quantification, finite element and particle methods. Mr. Luke has led laser vulnerability assessment studies for tactical and strategic targets for numerous US High Energy Laser programs. Registration & Fees Courses are $250 for one half-day course or $455 for two half-day or a full-day course. Full-time Royal Defence Academy (RDA) students may attend the short courses offered at the UK/US DE Workshop for free. With the exception of full-time RDA students, these courses are available only to persons registered for the UK/US Directed Energy Workshop.
Please note that persons registering for these classes must meet the specified security credentials set forth for the Conference.
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