Engineering Laser Systems for Aerospace and Defense Applications
Hosted By: Laser Systems Technical Group
17 July 2020 11:00 - 12:00
Eastern Time (US & Canada) (UTC -05:00)Lasers for aerospace applications pose a unique set of challenges including harsh environments, limited volumes, power and thermal capacity of platforms. In this webinar hosted by the OSA Laser Systems Technical Group, Nick Sawruk of Fibertek, Inc. will discuss the development of laser systems for military and aerospace applications, providing examples of lasers transitioned from the lab to operational environments.
Laser systems and technologies have an enabling role in LIDAR-based remote sensing systems in military and aerospace communities – with applications that include atmospheric sensing, ice sheet and vegetation altimetry for the monitoring of global climate change, long-range tracking, 3D imaging and mapping, autonomous navigation, and more. Long-range sensing applications frequently require high-power laser systems; and particularly for airborne or space-based sensing applications, engineering high-performance laser systems is frequently dominated by needs for high reliability, compact size, and high efficiency. To complicate matters, needs for performance, reliability, size, and efficiency are often in direct conflict so that for any mission a careful assessment of priorities is required. In addition to providing examples of laser systems designed to meet particularly challenging mission requirements, the webinar will offer insight into the design and test methodologies used in the development of the systems.
What You Will Learn:
- Description and mitigations of the unique challenges of laser systems deisgned for aerospace applications, including airborne and spaceborne lasers.
Who Should Attend:
- Lidar and laser communication system integrators
- Laser engineers
About the Presenter: Nicholas Sawruk, Fibertek, Inc.
Nicholas Sawruk is the Director of Laser & Optical Engineering at Fibertek, Inc. Mr. Sawruk has over 15 years of experience developing, designing, integrating, and testing laser/EO systems. His support experience includes the NASA Ice Cloud and Elevation Satellite laser systems where he served as the principal investigator and program manager of a high reliability laser system for a national asset space satellite. Over his career, Mr. Sawruk developed, matured and delivered state of the art laser systems including chemical, gas, solid state and fiber lasers for a wide range of defense and science sensing missions. He received a bachelors of science degree in Physics and Mathematics from the United States Air Force Academy and a masters of science degree from the University of New Mexico.
