My research interests encompass experimental investigations of High Energy Density (HED) Science, particularly focusing on short pulse laser-solid interactions, relativistic electron generation, hard x-ray generation, and fast electron transport, all of which are relevant to laser fusion schemes such as Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) and Fast Ignition (FI). The plasma conditions created by high-power lasers are expected to reach temperatures in the millions of degrees and densities above that of solid matter. I am particularly interested in using x-ray diagnostics (including x-ray spectroscopy, absorption spectroscopy, and x-ray imaging) to investigate these plasmas. This approach aids in understanding complex physical phenomena like the equation of state, phase transitions, radiation transport, shock wave heating, and compression in states of matter known as warm dense matter. Additionally, I am interested in the physics of charged particles generated by high-power, short-pulse lasers. The characterization and potential applications of these relativistic particles are also central to my research interests.
Michael Pravica
I am a high pressure physicist who studies matter subjected to extreme conditions using spectroscopic means (infrared, Raman, x-ray absorption and nuclear magnetic resonance.).
Bernhard Bach
I am involved in the support and development of various research programs. At the Nevada Terawatt Facility I am involved in the development of optical and x-ray diagnostics for two research programs. As a Co-Pi for the American Climber Science program I am involved with the development of optical instrumentation for field measurements of snow and ice.
Prior to my employment as Undergraduate Lab Director at the University of Nevada, I was owner and/or founder of two optical manufacturing firms. As a business owner I worked closely with various university research programs as well as foreign (ESA, DESY) and national laboratories (NASA, NIST, LBL, etc.). Optics that I have had a hand in designing and or fabricating have seen use in space flight programs –– Scimachy, Venus Express Missions and the James Webb Telescope, for example ––and in synchrotron beamlines, SRC, ALS, NSLS and DESY. . I still maintain close ties with industry, consulting with aerospace firms developing optical elements for space flight and aiding high-tech firms in developing novel optical instrumentation. From 2004-2005 I sat on the industrial advisory board for NSF’s Engineering Research Center For Extreme Ultraviolet Science and Technology’s