Center for Science, Technology and Security Policy

Hill Briefings

The CSTSP Congressional Science and Security Briefing program brings clear and timely technical information to congressional staff, in a setting where questions are encouraged.

December 13, 2004 LASERS: More Than Just Pretty Lights What are lasers? How do they work? What are some military applications of lasers? What is a directed energy weapon? How are lasers used for communication? Can lasers be used to detect chemical and biological weapons? What are the challenges and difficulties in designing and building these and other sophisticated laser-based systems? This briefing that addressed the nature of lasers and their multiple applications in both the industrial and security worlds.

The speakers for this session were George Mason University's Dr. Laurie Fathe, who gave an introduction to lasers, and Johns Hopkins University's Dr. James Spicer, who spoke on a variety of military applications for lasers.

• Review Dr. Fathe's presentation (PDF of a powerpoint presentation)
• Review Dr. Spicer's presentation (PDF of a powerpoint presentation)
• Read AAAS News Release

Dr. Laurie Fathe, the founding Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence and The program for Innovative Education at George Mason University is a laser physicist by background. Her current areas of focus are science education and national science policy. She served as a science advisor in the U.S. Congress, working in the office of Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA). Dr. Fathe is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and a past chair of its Forum on Physics and Society, where her work centers on helping scientists become involved in the legislative process.

Dr. James Spicer, a Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at The Johns Hopkins University, is the Director of the Center for Materials Sensing and Detection. He is the principal investigator leading a team of investigators from Johns Hopkins, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Stanford and SRI on the MURI program for real-time, explosive specific chemical sensors sponsored by the Army Research Office. His expertise is in areas related to laser interactions with materials for processing, evaluation and sensing applications.