Editor

Ken Barat is the former laser safety officer (LSO) for the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and National Ignition Facility Directorate at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Presently he is continuing his passion for laser safety through private consulting, Laser Safety Solutions ([email protected]).

Ken is a fellow of the Laser Institute of America and senior member of IEEE. He has received Jim Rockwell awards (2009 and 2005) for Laser Safety Leadership and Education, and the Tim Renner User Service Award (2002) from the Advance Light Source as well as recognition awards from the Department of Energy and LSO Working Group. As former group leader of the nonionizing group of the Arizona Regulatory Agency, he successfully led the effort for statewide laser regulations. He is also one of the founders of the Bay Area Laser Safety Officer Society, the nation’s oldest LSO networking group. He was among the first LSOs certified by the Board of Laser Safety.

Ken organized and directed the first eight LSO workshops, the premier LSO training workshops in the United States. He has given presentations on laser safety at national and international meetings and acted as a consultant and trainer for a wide variety of companies. He is a member of the United Kingdom’s Laser Safety Forum and helped launch and instructed at both the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology first laser safety seminars and the Hong Kong Medical Society LSO training seminar. He is an active member on several American National Standards Institute committees.