Contributors

A number of chapters have been written by individuals, in my opinion and according to my knowledge, who are the best in their areas. I cannot thank them enough for their hard work and willingness to contribute to this book. So here is a little about all these special people.
 

Stephen Benson
Stephen Benson began his career in free electron lasers (FELs) on the Stanford SCA FEL. He commissioned the Mark III user facility at Stanford University and then at Duke University. He was the first to demonstrate third harmonic lasing in an FEL and assisted in efforts to achieve the first lasing at the second and fifth harmonics. Since 1982, he has been working on developing high-power FELs. The Jefferson Lab IR FEL presently has the FEL power record of 14.3 kW at 1.6 µm. He won the FEL prize in 2000 for his part in developing the first kilowatt average power FEL. He is an American Physical Society fellow. He is the laser safety supervisor for the FEL facility and developed the laser safety specifications for its laser personnel safety system.
 

Jerald A. Britten
Jerald A. Britten earned a bachelor of science from Michigan State University and master of science and PhD from University of Colorado, all in chemical engineering. Presently, he is an associate program leader for Advanced Optical Components in the National Ignition Facility (NIF) and Photon Sciences Program at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). Since 1993, he has been developing the technology for manufacturing laser damage-resistant, large-aperture diffraction gratings for high-energy laser systems.
 

James Fisher James Fisher is currently the vice president of Newport’s Optical Components and Vibration Control Business with headquarters in Irvine, California. Before his current role, he led various technical, sales, and marketing groups within Newport and launched a number of new product platforms and patented products. He earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the University of Illinois–Urbana and his MBA from the University of Southern California.
 

James Foye
James Foye is a training course developer for the NIF at the LLNL. He is a strong supporter of safety and has years of experience in training development.
 

Larry Green
With almost three decades of instrumentation experience and almost 10 years in the laser industry, Larry Green brings a unique perspective to measuring spatial beam profiles. He earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering sciences from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, specializing in materials science, and a master of business from the Polytechnic Institute of New York. His chapter goes to the central issue of laser processing (Chapter 17). If you need a beam of a certain shape for your process, you should be measuring it quantitatively. Walter Deming said it all, “If you cannot measure it, you cannot control it.”
 

John Hansknecht
John Hansknecht is the vice president of Laser Safety Systems, a company that specializes in Class IV engineered laser safety controls. He has been working with high-power laser systems since 1995 and has more than 25 years of experience in the Department of Defense nuclear engineering and the Department of Energy research laboratory environments. He is an engineer, entrepreneur, and inventor, currently holding one U.S. patent with a second patent pending. He was interested in writing a chapter for this book (Chapter 15) because he has seen so many people struggle with the engineered safety requirements for Class IV laser areas as outlined in American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Z136.1.
 

Patty Hunt
Patty Hunt works for the Thomas Jefferson Site Office in Newport News, Virginia, as the environmental programs manager. She earned a bachelor of science in environmental engineering from Old Dominion University and a master’s degree in occupational health from Temple University. She is registered as a professional engineer in Virginia and is a certified industrial hygienist. Her latest interests are in environmental management of nanomaterials.
 

Damon Kopala
As a project engineer at Edmund Optics for 3 years, Damon Kopala is a valuable asset to anyone with questions on optical mounts. He has written articles in this area.
 

Jack Lund
Jack Lund is enjoying retirement following 50 years actively engaged in laser-related research and development since graduating from Western Illinois University in 1961. He was one of the original members of the Joint Army Laser Safety Team established in 1968 at the Frankford Arsenal in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to study laser bioeffects. His focus for the past 40 years has been on the effect of laser radiation on ocular tissue and the visual system.
 

Bill Molander
Bill Molander is an integral member of the National Ignition Team, as well as a member of its Laser Safety Working Group. He has influenced many as an instructor at Los Positas College.
 

Burt Mooney
As a graduate of San Jose City College Laser Program, Burt Mooney was an applications/sales engineer for 17 years at Molectron, 8 years as a power and energy meter specialist, and now sales development manager for Gentec-EO USA. His chapter on power and energy meters (Chapter 19) delves into the specifics on how one goes about selecting a sensor head for one’s laser and/or lasers, and then matching that up to a display or PC data collection option. The chapter covers some of the history, looks at the present, and peeks at what the future holds.
 

Matt Vaughn
Matt Vaughn is a training developer at the LLNL. He is too modest to say much about himself.
 

Diana Warren
Diana Warren is the product manager responsible for New Focus tunable diode lasers and amplifiers, electro-optical modulators, and high-speed photoreceivers. New Focus, a Newport Corporation Brand, is based in Santa Clara, California. She has a background in laser spectroscopy and earned her PhD in chemistry from the University of Southern California.
 

Bill Wells
Bill Wells works for the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory as the safety compliance program manager. He earned both a bachelor and a master of science in biology from the University of Louisiana, Monroe, and a PhD in environmental health from the University of Cincinnati, Kettering Laboratory. He is a certified industrial hygienist and certified safety professional. His current professional interests include mishap investigation and environment, safety, and health system assurance.
 

David C. Woodruff
David C. Woodruff is an engineering physicist designing laser shutters for 25 years. He is the president of NM Laser Products Inc. The continuing evolution and sophistication of the laser shutter motivated him to write Chapter 20 and provide industry awareness of the technologies involved.