|
Robert L. McCrory, Jr.
Vice Provost and Director of the Laboratory
for Laser Energetics
Professor of Mechanical Engineering
250 East River Road
Rochester, New York 14623
Phone: (585) 275-4973, Fax: (585)
256-2586, rmcc@lle.rochester.edu.
Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1973)
Biographical Sketch
Prof. McCrory received his B.Sc. in Physics from
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1968), and his Ph.D.
in Applied Plasma Physics also from the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology (1973). After positions as Research Associate in the
Department of Nuclear Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology, an Aflred P. Sloan Fellowship, and as Staff Member
in the Theoretical Division at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory,
he joined the University as Scientist and Coleader of the Theory
and Computation Group at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE)
in 1976. He has been promoted several times and currently serves
as Director, Chief Executive Officer, and Senior Scientist at the
LLE. He was appointed Vice Provost in February, 2006. He became
Professor of Mechanical Engineering in 1984, and Professor of Physics
in 1999. Prof. McCrory was appointed Executive Director of Governmental
Relations for the University of Rochester in 1997, a position he
held until 2004. McCrory serves as Associate Editor, Physics of
Plasmas; Editor, Nuclear Fusion; and has served as an Associate
Editor for Laser and Particle Beams. He was elected a Fellow of
the American Physical Society in 1985, and received the Edward Teller
Award in 1995.
Research
Prof. McCrory's research interests are in the general
field of Theoretical Plasma and Laser Physics. He has made numerous
contributions to inertial fusion beginning with his work on wavelength
dependence of the hydrodynamic efficiency of laser-driven targets
and hydrodynamic stability theory. He was awarded the 1995 Edward
Teller Medal for his pioneering research and leadership in the use
of lasers for controlled thermonuclear fusion. The Fusion Power Associates
Board of Directors awarded him the 1996 Leadership Award for his outstanding
leadership qualities in accelerating the development of fusion. The
Board noted the key role he plays in the management councils of the
national and international inertial confinement fusion communities
and his important role in bringing an academic perspective to the
national inertial confinement fusion program. He was elected a Fellow
of the American Physical Society in 1985 for his many contributions
to fundamental understanding of hydrodynamic instability and thermal
transport in laser-driven plasmas. He served on the National Academy
of Sciences' Committee on Space Technology to the U.S. Space Command
of the Air Force Studies Board which advised the U.S. CINC SPACE on
the military use of space, space architecture, and space policy.
Direct Drive Inertial Fusion
The inertial confinement fusion (ICF) program is
a key element in the Department of Energy's (DOE) Stockpile Stewardship
Program (SSP) authorized by PL 103-160 to "establish a stewardship
program to ensure the preservation of the core intellectual and
technical competencies of the United States in nuclear weapons."
The OMEGA laser at the University of Rochester's Laboratory for
Laser Energetics (LLE) is the principal laser research facility
for the University and the three National laboratories (Los Alamos,
Sandia, and Livermore) for ICF and SSP experiments. LLE is the only
facility that also trains significant numbers of graduate students
in inertial fusion. The OMEGA laser, the highest-power ultraviolet
fusion laser in the world, is the principal laser facility for SSP
activities for DOE in FY 2007 and for a number of years to come.
The Secretary of Energy Advisory Board (SEAB) National Ignition
Facility Laser System Task Force Report noted the importance of
continuing scientific contact with "…the laser-based research
at the University of Rochester."
Calculations indicate that the gain is potentially
at least three times larger using direct drive laser fusion than
can be achieved using indirect drive (conversion of laser light
to x rays that drive the target). Since conversion of the laser
light to x rays is not required for direct drive, the efficiency
of the process is higher. With direct drive, the target absorbs
about five times more energy, and it is this increased energy that
is responsible for the higher gain. The National Ignition Facility
(NIF) under construction at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
will allow tests of this concept in 2010 and later. Experiments
using the 60-beam OMEGA ((http://www.lle.rochester.edu/05_omega/05_omega.html)
laser facility at LLE (http://www.lle.rochester.edu/index.html)
will validate the physical scaling required to increase confidence
in a direct drive ignition demonstration on NIF.
Ultra-high intensity laser research
Super high-intensity, high-energy laser sources
will significantly advance ignition physics. Very high intensities
allow the Inertial Confinement Fusion and Stockpile Stewardship
programs to test advanced concepts that can increase the gain of
an ICF target. Calculations indicated that the gain is potentially
at least three times larger than can be achieved using indirect
drive (conversion of laser light to x rays that drive the target).
Since conversion of the laser light to x rays is not required for
direct drive, the efficiency of the process is higher. With direct
drive, the target absorbs about five times more energy, and it is
this increased energy that is responsible for the higher gain.
OMEGA EP (http://omegaep.lle.rochester.edu/)
when completed, will support the SSP and ICF programs. Concomitantly,
with the delay of the NIF, this added capability will contribute
substantially to the critical need to recruit and retain graduate
students, postdoctoral associates, University faculty members, and
National laboratory scientists in areas of National need. Furthermore,
additional shots on the OMEGA EP facility are required to support
the National plan goal to provide an ignition demonstration on NIF
in 2010.
Recent Publications
- High-Energy Petawatt Project at the University
of Rochester's Laboratory for Laser Energetics (C. Stoeckl,
J. A. Delettrez, J. H. Kelly, T. J. Kessler, B. E. Kruschwitz,
S. J. Loucks, R. L. McCrory, D. D. Meyerhofer, D. N. Maywar, S.
F. B. Morse, J. Myatt, A. L. Rigatti, L. J. Waxer, J. D. Zuegel,
and R. B. Stephens), Fusion Science and Technology 49(3),
367-373 (2006).
- Early Stage of Implosion in Inertial Confinement
Fusion: Shock Timing and Perturbation Evolution (V.N. Goncharov,
O.l V. Gotchev, E. Vianello, T. R. Boehly, J. P. Knauer, P. W.
McKenty, P. B. Radha, S. P. Regan, T. C. Sangster, S. Skupsky,
V. A. Smalyuk, R. Betti, R. L. McCrory, D. D. Meyerhofer, and
C. Cherfils-Clerouin), Physics of Plasmas 13, 012702 (2006).
- Direct-Drive, Cryogenic Target Implosions
on OMEGA (F. J. Marshall, R. S. Craxton, J. A. Delettrez,
D. H. Edgell, L. M. Elasky, R. Epstein, V. Yu. Glebov, V. N. Goncharov,
D. R. Harding, R. Janezic, R. L. Keck, J. D. Kilkenny, J. P. Knauer,
S. J. Loucks, L. D. Lund, R. L. McCrory, P. W. McKenty, D. D.
Meyerhofer, P. B. Radha, S. P. Regan, T. C. Sangster, W. Seka,
V. A. Smalyuk, J. M. Soures, C. Stoeckl, S. Skupsky, J. A. Frenje,
C. K. Li, R. D. Petrasso, and F. H. Seguin), Physics of Plasmas
12, 056302 (2005).
- Theory of Laser-Induced Adiabat Shaping
in Inertial Confinement Fusion Implosions: The Relaxation Method
(R. Betti, K. Anderson, J. P. Knauer, T. J. B. Collins, R. L.
McCrory, P. W. McKenty, and S. Skupsky), Physics of Plasmas
12, 042703 (2005).
- High-Energy Petawall Capability for the
OMEGA Laser (L. J. Waxer, D. N. Maywar, J. H. Kelly, T. J.
Kessler, B. E. Kruschwitz, S. J. Loucks, R. L. McCrory, D. D.
Meyerhofer, S. F. B. Morse, C. Stoeckl, and J. D. Zuegel), Opt.
Photonics News 16, 30 (2005).
|
