Bob Armstead
Associate Professor of Physics
Ph.D. Physics, UC Berkely, 1964
Vitae

Dr. Armstead joined the faculty of NPS in 1965. He has worked on problems relating the theory of low energy electron-atom scattering. His current interests are in the teaching of physics and in the computer simulation of free-electron lasers.

Phone: 831-656-2125, Email: armstead@nps.edu

Steven R. Baker
Associate Professor of Physics
Ph.D. Physics, UCLA, 1985
Vitae

Dr. Baker joined the faculty of NPS in 1985.  His research has focused on sonar transducer performance monitoring and modeling, sonar array performance prediction, the acoustic properties of fluid-filled porous media, structural vibrations, helicopter aural detection, and the development of a seismo-acoustic sonar for buried mine detection.  Prof. Baker has served as advisor or co-advisor for more than 56 M.S. students. He is a member of the Acoustical Society of America.

Phone:831-656-2732 Email: srbaker@nps.edu 

Joe Blau
Associate Research Professor of Physics
Ph.D. Physics, Naval Postgraduate Schol, 2002
Vitae

Dr. Blau joined NPS in 1989. His research interest is computer simulations of Free Electron Lasers. Over the past 25 years he has developed, along with Prof. Colson, a set of programs for simulating FELs on desktop workstations. His recent research, and an aspect of his Doctoral Dissertation, has been on short Rayleigh length optical cavities for high power FELs, FEL amplifiers and oscillators, and the 4 dimensional simulation of optical pulses in the FEL.

Phone: 831-656-2635, Email: blau@nps.edu

Brett Borden
Professor of Physics
Ph.D. Physics, University of Texas at Austin, 1986
Vitae

Dr. Borden joined the faculty of NPS in 2002, after 22 years as a Research Physicist at The Naval Weapons Center in China Lake, CA. His research has centered on inverse problems with particular concentration in radar-based imaging and remote sensing. He is a fellow of the Institute of Physics, a member of the editorial board for the journal Inverse Problems, and received China Lake's TD award for Technical Achievement in 1995.

Ronald E. Brown
Research Professor of Physics
Ph.D. Chemistry, USC, 1972
Vitae

Dr. Brown joined the NPS faculty in 2002, after 40 years of work in industry.  His work has specialized in modeling explosive detonation processes, shaped charge jet formation, and high velocity impact phenomena. This work has led to the development of shaped charges for several NATO weapon systems, including the MK50 Torpedo and Mongoose and US Mine clearer, for which Dr. Brown holds a US Patent. Professor Brown is a member of  Sigma Xi, the American Chemical Society, the New York Academy of Sciences, and an executive member of the International Ballistics Committee and the steering committees of two National Defense Industrial Association divisions.

Phone: 831-656-2635, Email: rebrown@nps.edu

Bill Colson
Distinguished Professor of Physics
Ph.D. Physics, Stanford University, 1977
Vitae (Homepage)

Dr. Colson joined NPS in 1989. His research is centered on the theory and simulation of free-electron lasers. Prof. Colson has been the Principal Investigator of 45 research contracts with LANL, LLNL, SPAWAR, AFOSR, ONR, NASA, NRL, LBL, and NSF. He has published 120 research papers, holds 3 patents, and has given 62 invited lectures. He has been a Guest Editor for IEEE Journal of Quantum of Electronics, and is a Co-Editor of a book entitled Free Electron Laser Handbook. Prof. Colson has advised over 48 M.S. thesis students and 4 Ph.D. dissertation students at NPS. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society, a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Association of Physics Teachers, the Optical Society of America, the American Society of Naval Engineers. He was awarded the 1989 Free Electron Laser Prize.

Phone, 831-656-2765, Email: wbcolson@nps.edu

Peter Crooker
Senior Lecturer of Physics
Ph.D. Physics, Naval Postgraduate School, 1967
Vitae

Dr.Crooker joined the NPS faculty in 2002, after a 30 year tenure at the University of Hawaii, where he was a Professor of Physics. He has long been involved in optical techniques for the study of condensed matter. He has patented an electrically switchable color display using cholesteric liquid crystal droplets. For the last few years Crooker was active in the free-electron laser program initiated by Prof. John Madey at the University of Hawaii. Now at NPS, he works with Prof. Colson modeling and simulating free-electron laser behavior. He has published over 50 articles. He received the University of Hawaii Board of Regents Medal for Excellence in Teaching in 1997.

Phone: 831-656-2232, Email: ppcrooke@nps.edu

Scott Davis
Associate Professor of Physics
Ph.D. Physics, Purdue, 1976
Vitae

Dr. Davis joined the faculty of NPS in 1989. His research interests include: atomic, molecular and optical physics; fundamental spectroscopy; ultraviolet imaging spectroscopy; infrared astrophysics. Prof. Davis was the recipient of the 1979 Van Biesbroeck Award of the American Astronomical Society. He was also the co-recipient of the 1987 NASA Achievement Award. Prof. Davis has advised more than 30 M.S. students. He is a member of the American Physical Society, the Optical Society of America, and the American Association of Physics Teachers.

Phone: 831-656-2877, Email: sdavis@nps.edu

Bruce C. Denardo
Associate Chair fo Research
Ph.D. Physics, UCLA, 1990
Vitae

Dr. Denardo joined the faculty of NPS in 1998.  His research interests include  acoustics, nonlinear waves, fluid dynamics, and educational physics.  Recent research topics include parametric excitation of sound, a search for microwave radiation in sonoluminescence, and the theoretical discovery of new types of solitons in sandstone.  Prof. Denardo has advised 16 M.S. thesis students and 2 Ph.D. dissertation students. He is a member of the American Association of Physics Teachers, and the Acoustical Society of America.

Phone: 831-656-2952, Email: denardo@nps.edu

Dragoslav Grbovic
Professor of Physics
Ph.D. Physics, University of Tennessee-Knoxville
Vitae

Dr. Dragoslav Grbovic joined NPS faculty in 2010. His research interests are microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) for sensing and energy harvesting applications. His recent research focuses on creating focal plane arrays of bi-material MEMS devices for infrared and terahertz imaging.  Dr. Grbovic has a wide experience in MEMS device design and simulation as well as photolithography and microfabrication processes. He was a research fellow of National Academy of Sciences. His work has been published in Applied Physics Letters, Journal of Applied Physics, Optics Express and other journals and proceedings and he is an author of a chapter in the Encyclopedia of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. Dr. Grbovic is a member of American Physical Society.  He holds one US patent.

Phone: (831)656-2276, Email: dgrbovic@nps.edu

Nancy M. Haegel
Professor of Physics
Ph.D. Material Science, UC, Berkeley, 1985
Vitae

Professor Haegel joined the faculty of NPS in 2003. She served previously on the faculties of the Materials Science and Engineering Department at UCLA and the Physics Department at Fairfield University. She conducts research in the areas of transport imaging in solid state devices, modeling of low temperature and far infrared detectors, solar cell characterization and development of polymer emitters for military applications. Dr. Haegel has received fellowships from the National Science Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Kellogg Foundation and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and was awarded the 2003 Prize for Research at an Undergraduate Institution from the American Physical Society (APS). She received the Excellence in Teaching Award at UCLA and the Teacher of the Year Award at Fairfield University. She is author or co-author on 90 publications and three book chapters. Dr. Haegel currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the University of Notre Dame and is a member of the APS Committee on the Status of Women in Physics.

Phone: 831-656-3954, Email: nmhaegel@nps.edu

Robert S. Hixson
Professor, Physics department
PhD in Physics, WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY , 1980
Vitae

Working on compaction of porous media, making measurements of dynamic response of a wide variety of materials.

Phone: 831-656-2121, Email: rshixson@nps.edu

Richard M. Harkins
Senior Lecturer of Physics
M.S. Physics, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA, 1988
Vitae

Senior Lecturer Harkins joined the faculty of NPS in 2000 after a career as a Surface Warfare officer in the US Navy. He is an expert in integrated Combat Systems. His current research interests include autonomous robots and computer network security.

Phone: 831-656-2828, Email: rharkins@nps.edu

Daphne Kapolka, LCDR, USN (ret)
Senior Lecturer of Physics
Academic Associate for Undersea Warfare
Ph.D. Applied Physics, Naval Postgraduate School, 1997
Vitae

Dr. Kapolka joined the NPS faculty in 2000.  Prior to joining NPS, Prof. Kapolka served as an Assistant Program Manager for Fixed Surveillance Systems at the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, San Diego. Her research interests include acoustic and non-acoustic sensors for underwater threat detection and underwater communication devices.

Phone: 831-656-1825, Email: dkapolka@nps.edu

Gamani Karunasiri
Professor of Physics
Ph.D. Physics, U. of Pittsburgh, 1984
Vitae

Dr. Karunasiri joined the faculty of NPS in 2000.  He conducts research in multicolor infrared detectors, uncooled infrared sensors, and semiconductor sensors which mimic biological vision systems. Prof Karunasiri has published over 70 journal papers and holds two patents. He held the Andrew Mellon Predoctoral Fellowship from the University of Pittsburgh and won Teaching Honors Awards from the National University of Singapore. Prof. Karunasiri has advised 3 Ph.D. and over 15 M.S. students. He is a member the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE).

Phone: 831-656-2886, Email: karunasiri@nps.edu

Fred A. Kruse
Research Professor of Physics
Ph.D. Geology, Colorado School of Mines, 1987
Vitae

Dr. Kruse joined the NPS faculty in 2009. He has been involved in multispectral, hyperspectral (HSI), and synthetic aperture Radar (SAR) remote sensing research and applications for over 28 years in positions with the U. S. Geological Survey, the University of Colorado, the University of Nevada (Reno), and private industry. His principal research interest is physics-based exploration of diverse visible/near infrared (VNIR), short-wave infrared (SWIR), and long-wave infrared (LWIR) imaging spectrometer data; and multifrequency, polarimetric, and interferometric synthetic aperture Radar (InSAR) remote sensing datasets. Current research and applications areas include study of problems in geology (geologic mapping, geologic hazards, geothermal/hydrothermal systems, and environmental monitoring), and the use of remote sensing data for military and intelligence purposes. Dr. Kruse is also one of the scientists that originally developed the image analysis software, "ENVI", designing, implementing, testing, and documenting many of the original algorithms (now used world-wide) for hyperspectral analysis. Dr. Kruse currently mentors graduate students, and prospective Ph. D. and MS candidates are invited to contact him.

Phone: 303-499-9471, Email: fakruse@nps.edu

Andres Larraza
Physics Department Chair
Ph.D. Physics, UCLA, 1987
Vitae

Dr. Larraza joined the faculty of NPS in 1994.  His research interests include  wave turbulence, nonlinear acoustics and optics, acoustic analogs to electromagnetic zero-point field effects, underwater acoustic communications, and acoustic room de-reverberation.  Several aspects of Dr. Larraza’s research have been featured in the 1996 AIP Physics News, the New Scientist magazine, Physics World, and Technology Research News magazine. Prof. Larraza has advised over 25 M.S. thesis students and 3 Ph.D. dissertation students.

Phone: 831-656-3007, Email: larraza@nps.edu

James Luscombe
Ph.D. Physics, U. of Chicago, 1983.
Vitae

Dr. Luscombe joined the faculty of NPS in 1994. He is active in theoretical condensed matter physics research, with more than 60 journal articles published and more than 100 conference presentations made. His current research interests are in the electronic and magnetic properties of nano-scale systems, quantum computing, and statistical physics for networked computers

.831-656-2941, Email: luscombe@nps.edu

William B. Maier II
Senior Lecturer of Physics
Ph.D. Physics, U. of Chicago, 1965
Vitae

Dr. Maier joined the faculty of NPS in 1995, after 30 years as a staff scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory, with a year at Nottingham, UK, as a Science Research Council Senior Fellow. Prof. Maier has broad research interests in atomic and molecular collisions, spectroscopy, electrical discharges, atmospheric physics, radiation damage, and chemistry in cold solutions. His current research topics include experimental railgun technology and theoretical work on electromagnetism. Prof. Maier has published over one hundred scientific papers.  While at NPS he has advised ten M.S. thesis students.

Phone: 831-656-2896, Email: maier@nps.edu

Richard C. Olsen
Professor of Physics
Ph.D. Physics, UC San Diego, 1980
Vitae

Dr. Olsen joined the faculty of NPS in 1987. His research interests include: remote sensing, primarily with national technical means (NTM); spectral imagery, from UV to LWIR, and high-spatial resolution commercial systems. Most of this work involves terrain classification and target detection (including submarines). Prof. Olsen has published more than 31 refereed scientific articles. He has advised one Ph.D. student and more than 100 M.S. students. Prof. Olsen is a member of IEEE and SPIE.

Phone: 831-656-2019, Email: olsen@nps.edu
Olsen Biographical Page

Sebastian Osswald
Assistant Professor of Physics and Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Ph.D. Physics and Materials Science & Engineering, Drexel University and Technische Universität Ilmenau (Germany), 2008
Vitae

Dr. Sebastian Osswald joined NPS in 2010. He is highly experienced with the synthesis and characterization of a wide range of nanomaterials and has extensively studied their chemical and physical properties. His recent research focuses on the application of carbon nanostructures in energy conversion and storage technologies, sensor devices, and composite materials.

Phone: 831-656-2817, Email: sosswald@nps.edu

Joseph A. Rice
Research Chair of Engineering Acoustics
M.S.E.E. Applied Ocean Science, UCSD, 1990
Vitae

Prof. Rice has been a US Navy research engineer at SSC since 1981, developing digital signal processing and numerical modeling concepts for solving undersea acoustics problems.  He is Principal Investigator for the SSC San Diego Seaweb Initiative, the ONR Littoral-ASW Deployable Autonomous Distributed Systems (DADS) Demonstrations Telesonar Networked Communications and Navigation Task, the ONR Telesonar Technology for Off-Board and Deployable Systems Project, the NOPP Seaweb Network for FRONT Oceanographic Sensors Project, and the DADS Advanced Research Networking Task. He is the Technical POC for three SBIR contracts producing undersea acoustic modems, networks, and transducers.  At NPS, he is conducting multidisciplinary research in the areas of undersea acoustic propagation, communications and networks. Prof. Rice received the US Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Award for experimental demonstration of undersea acoustic matched-field processing during the SSC San Diego SwellEX acoustic propagation studies. He is also interested in acoustic localization and navigation, having developed the prototype array element localization sonobuoy and associated processing for the Sonobuoy Thinned Random Array Program.  Prof. Rice is a member of the IEEE and the ASA. 

Phone: 831-656-2982, Email: rice@nps.edu

Jose O. Sinibaldi
Research Associate Professor of Physics
Ph.D. Aerospace Eng., U. of Michigan - Ann Arbor, 1999
Vitae

Dr. Sinibaldi joined the faculty of NPS in 2001. He conducts experimental and massively parallel computational research in shock and detonation physics in multi-scalar energetic phenomena applied toward force protection and advanced propulsion. Professor Sinibaldi has published a book on Pulsed and Continuous Detonations, 10 journal papers, and presented at over 30 technical conferences. Prof. Sinibaldi has co-advised 1 Ph.D. and over 30 M.S. students. He is a member of the American Physical Society and a Senior Member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Phone: 831-656-2601, Email: josiniba@nps.edu

Craig F. Smith
LLNL Chair Professor of Physics
Ph.D. Nuclear Science and Engineering, UCLA, 1975
Vitae

Dr. Smith is the Lawrence Livermore Chair Professor at NPS. His research interests include nuclear energy, non-proiliferation and counterterrorism technologies. He is the US member of an international steering committee on lead-cooled nuclear reactors, and has worked internationally in research related to counter-terrorism technology and automated systems. He is is a Fellow of the American Nuclear Society (ANS) and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Phone: (831) 656-2185, Email: cfsmith@nps.edu

Kevin B. Smith
Professor of Physics
Chair, Engineering Acoustics Committee
Ph.D. Applied Marine Physics, U. of Miami, 1991
Vitae

Dr. Smith joined the faculty of NPS in 1995. His research interests include all aspects of underwater acoustic propagation and propagation in littoral environments as well as general improvements in acoustic modeling with the parabolic approximation as an aid to data analysis.  Current research projects include numerical studies of active reverberation, the influence of oceanographic variability on water-borne propagation at high frequency, and the incorporation of rough surface scattering effects.  Prof. Smith has advised two Ph.D. students and more than 30 M.S. students.  He is a member of the Acoustical Society of America.

Phone: 831-656-2107, Email: kbsmith@nps.edu

Richard Swent
Research Associate Professor of Physics

Dr. Swent joined NPS in 2009. He has a B.A. in Physics from Occidental College and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. He has worked for over 20 years in the fields of superconducting accelerators and free electron lasers at Stanford University and the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. He has experience working with high voltage systems, cryogenic systems, vacuum systems, low-level and high-power RF systems and lasers. At Stanford he was chair of the University Laser Safety Committee and served on the Administrative Panel for Radiological Safety. He has over 50 publications and is a member of APS, IEEE and AAAS.

Email: rlswent@nps.edu

David Trask, Colonel USAF (ret)
MASINT Chair
M.S. Aeronautical Management, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, 2001
Vitae

Measurement and Signature Intelligence Chair Professor of Physics

Donald L. Walters
Professor of Physics
Ph.D. Physics, Kansas State, 1971
Vitae

Dr. Walters joined the NPS in 1983.  At NPS he has developed and fielded a number of optical, acoustic and micro-thermal probe systems that measure the dynamic turbulent properties of the atmosphere that are being used in critical national programs.  He is the author of three requirement documents for military weapons systems currently in service and serves on a number of high level DoD Steering Committees concerned with laser propagation. Prof Walters has advised 51 M.S. and 2 Ph.D. students.  He is a member of the APS and OSA.

Phone: 831-656-2267, Email: walters@nps.edu

Angela Kim
Research Associate
M.S. Applied Mathematics, Naval Postgraduate School, 2009
Vitae

Raquel Herold
Research Associate
Vitae

Raquel joined the Physics Department in 2004. She provides support for the Free Electron Laser and Railgun research and development projects.

Eric Adint
Research Associate
B.S., BSIT, University of Phoenix, 2006
Vitae

Mr. Adint has 20 years professional experience in computing. His specialty is Parallel Computing, design, engineering, programming and optimization. Also he has extensive experience in programming, 3D animation and design, Storage and File services, HSM systems, UNIX, Linux, OS X, Solaris, and AIX. He has built 6 High Performance computing systems,, FEL , Detonation, Riemann, Kinglear, and GangNet (HA Failover D.O.J). Currently the architect of Hamming an 1152 core SUN blade based cluster. Also Eric supports the Free Electron Laser program, the Remote Sensing Center, and the High Energy Explosives Groups.