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 The University of Central Florida 

Center for Directed Energy 

Systems, Science & Technology 

CDE Seminar 

12.00 noon, November 19th 2021 

Directed Energy 

Dr James Trebes 

Principal Director for Directed Energy, 

U.S. Department of Defense, Washington. 

ABSTRACT 

james trebes
Dr. James Trebes

Directed Energy is now a term to describe many technologies based on the propagation and applications of beams of electromagnetic and particle energy. The DoD’s program in directed energy is centered on new technologies that will help protect the nation from many types of disruptive weapons threats. This presentation will give a broad overview of directed energy and the progress being made in the current DoD program. 

 

Dr. Trebes is the Principal Director for Directed Energy in the Office of the Director of Defense Research and Engineering (Modernization) within the office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E)). In that role, Dr. Trebes is responsible for coordinating directed energy development and implementation efforts across the Department of Defense. This includes developing and maintaining the Department of Defense roadmap for the development of directed energy weapons. Within the Department of Defense, he previously served as the OUSD(R&E) Principal Physicist for Directed Energy. Prior to that he served in number of roles at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory including Physics Division Leader, Applied Physics Division Leader, Medical Technology and Biophysics Division Leader. He spent 15 years within the LLNLs Laser Director working on a wide range of projects including laser technology, nuclear weapons physics, and basic science. He has also worked in the areas of space technology, nuclear weapons engineering, biodefense, nuclear non-proliferation, and intelligence.He served on advisor boards for the University of California at Berkeley, Texas A&M University, and the American Physical Society. He has participated in multiple Defense Science Summer Studies. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, has a BS Degree in Physics from Georgia Tech, and has a PhD in Physics from Yale University.