Prof. Dustin Froula received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Physics from the University of California, Davis in 2000 and 2002, respectively. After working as a research scientist at the National Ignition Facility Inertial Confinement Fusion Directorate at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (2002–2010), he spent a year on sabbatical at the University of California, Los Angeles where he completed the book, Plasma Scattering of Electromagnetic Radiation: Theory and Measurement Techniques. He then joined the research staff at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) as a Senior Scientist before becoming the Plasma and Ultrafast Physics Group Leader in 2011, and the Director of Plasma & Ultrafast Laser Science & Engineering in 2021. He is a full Professor of Physics (research) in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. In 2007, he received the Department of Energy’s Outstanding Mentor Award for his work with undergraduate and graduate students. He was selected as a fellow of the American Physical Society in 2017 for the “development and application of Thomson scattering to understand thermal transport and the onset of laser–plasma instabilities in indirect- and direct-drive fusion experiments.” In 2019 he was awarded the John Dawson Award for Excellence in Plasma Physics Research, “For innovative experiments that demonstrate turbulent dynamo in the laboratory, establishing laboratory experiments as a component in the study of turbulent magnetized plasmas, and opening a new path to laboratory investigations of other astrophysical processes.” In 2020, he received the Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award in fusion and plasma sciences “For seminal and creative contributions in fundamental laser-matter interaction physics, and laser-driven plasma accelerators that have significantly advanced the Department of Energy’s mission, including pioneering spatiotemporal pulse shaping techniques, focused laser–plasma instability research, and novel high-resolution Thomson scattering methods.”
Prof. Froula’s research interests are in the fields of Experimental Plasma and Laser Physics. His research covers the many areas relevant to inertial confinement fusion (ICF) and high-energy-density physics. This includes laser–plasma interactions (stimulated Brillouin, Raman scattering, two-plasmon decay, cross-beam energy transfer), underdense hydrodynamics, Thomson scattering, laser–plasma acceleration (wakefield acceleration), and short-pulse Raman amplification. His research is currently primarily focused around the OMEGA, OMEGA EP, MTW, and OPAL Laser Systems at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics.
