The LaserNetUS "Behind the Scenes" Interview Series

Last updated April 8, 2025, to add the Episode 4 interview with Prof. Roger Falcone.

See below to view the entire interview series introduced in this LaserNetUS press release.


Episode 1: Mario Manuel, originally published February 27, 2025.

In this first interview, LaserNetUS Principal Investigator (PI) Dr. Mario Manuel underscores how LaserNetUS expands opportunities for early-career scientists. Click the preview below to watch Dr. Manuel’s interview, or visit the LaserNetUS YouTube channel for this and other recordings.

About Dr. Mario Manuel
Dr. Mario Manuel, a Scientist at General Atomics, Inc., leads the GALADRIEL Laser Facility and plays a crucial role in developing and fabricating precision target capsules for the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. He has made significant contributions to the laboratory astrophysics and inertial confinement fusion fields, including his involvement in the groundbreaking achievement of fusion ignition at NIF in December 2022. He recently served as a PI for the LaserNetUS experiment K200, focusing on the "Characterization of Early-Stage, Quasi-Parallel, Collisionless-Shock Formation." Additionally, Dr. Manuel was an inaugural member of the LaserNetUS User Group, contributing to the Intense-Light USers Engagement (I-USE) Committee.

Episode 2: Andrew Longman, originally published March 12, 2025.

In this second episode of our latest Behind the Scenes interviews, Dr. Andrew Longman, Staff Scientist at LLNL and LaserNetUS Principal Investigator (PI), shares why LaserNetUS is a game-changer for researchers in high-power laser science. Click the preview below to watch Dr. Longman’s interview, or visit the LaserNetUS YouTube channel for this and other recordings.



About Andrew Longman
Dr. Andrew Longman, a Staff Scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), is advancing the study of high-intensity laser-plasma interactions. During his PhD at the University of Alberta, he designed and developed spiral phase mirrors to generate optical vortices in high-power lasers. His designs, refined using LLNL's magnetorheological finishing techniques, have produced some of the highest-intensity optical vortices and are now employed in laser facilities worldwide. Leveraging LLNL’s resources and LaserNetUS facilities, Longman conducts pioneering experiments on extreme magnetic field generation, particle acceleration, laser-plasma instabilities, and high-energy-density physics utilizing high-power laser systems.

Episode 3: Farhat Beg, originally published March 18, 2025.

This episode features Prof. Farhat Beg, a UC San Diego Professor who describes the advantages his students and future scientists gain from collaborating with LaserNetUS on high-power laser experiments and diagnostics. Click the preview below to watch Dr. Beg’s interview, or visit the LaserNetUS YouTube channel for this and other recordings.

About Farhat Beg
Farhat Beg received his Ph.D. degree in plasma physics from Imperial College, London, where he was a Research Associate and then a Research Fellow. In 2003, he joined the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of California, San Diego, where he is currently the Vice Chair and a Professor of engineering physics. He has published 170 articles in high-quality journals—including Nature, Nature Physics, and Physical Review Letters—and has been cited more than 4700 times in peer refereed journals. Dr. Beg has been fellow of the American Physical Society since 2009 and the Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers (IEEE) since 2011. He received the Department of Energy's Early Career Award in 2005 and the IEEE Early Achievement Award in 2008. Presently, as the Director of the Center for Energy Research at UC San Diego, he has provided mentorship and supervision to multiple students, postdoctoral fellows, and researchers within the center, starting with LaserNetUS's inaugural Cycle 1.   

Episode 4: Roger Falcone, originally published April 8, 2025.

Episode 4 provides viewers a glimpse into how LaserNetUS came to be—through collaborative, community-driven workshops—as described by Prof. Roger Falcone, a Professor at UC Berkeley and LaserNetUS Scientific Advisory Board Chair. Click the preview below to watch Prof. Falcone’s interview, or visit the LaserNetUS YouTube channel for this and other recordings.

About Roger Falcone
Prof. Falcone is a professor at UC Berkeley in the School of Graduate Studies. Previously, he chaired the Berkeley Physics Department, was Director of the Advanced Light Source at LBNL, and was President of the American Physical Society. He co-chaired the Brightest Light Initiative Workshop, from which the concepts for LaserNetUS were formed. Currently, he serves as the Chair of the LaserNetUS Scientific Advisory Board. Much of his work involves advocating for federal and private support for research and education. The co-author of numerous publications in renowned scientific journals, he has chaired, presided over, served on boards of, been an advisor to, and acted as a key member and contributor to many prestigious departments, committees, organizations, foundations, and affiliations in laser science, physics, and related areas throughout his career. 

About LaserNetUS
Founded in 2018, LaserNetUS is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science initiative providing scientists access to a network of high-power laser facilities across the U.S. The program fosters collaboration and supports cutting-edge research in areas such as plasma physics, materials science, and particle acceleration.

Media Contact:
Dr. Chandra Breanne Curry
LaserNetUS Coordinator
ccurry@slac.stanford.edu