Senior Laser Engineer

GREGORY A. WITT

*** ******* **. **, ********, VA 20176

703-***-**** (Home) 703-***-**** (Cell)

Professional Summary

Over 30 years of solid state laser build experience in the military and aerospace market. Special emphasis on:

Unstable Resonators Ring Resonators

Second Harmonic Generation Optical Parametric Oscillators

Polarization Theory Propagation Theory

Critical Cleaning Processes Optical Bonding Techniques

Contamination Control Cleanroom Protocols

Space Laser Design Optical Mount Design

Military Laser Design Q-switching Techniques

Work Instructions Cleanroom Protocols

Education

B.S., University of Central Florida,

Physics, 1991

A.A.S., Cincinnati Technical College, Laser

Electro-Optic Technology, Cum Laude, 1983

Professional Experience

Fibertek, Inc. 1993–Present

Chief Manufacturing Laser Engineer/Manager

of Laser Production

Technical manager responsible for laser/optical

design and construction oversight. Leader in

development and professional growth of nine

technical professionals while functioning as

technical lead on multiple laser programs. and

contribute as member of the technical oversight

committee.

Used extensive background to create

technical procedures used throughout the

company. (See bottom of document)

Functioned as manufacturing

engineering creating build documentation,

overseeing contamination control, and driving

subassembly build for ICESat-2 program.

Supervised rebuild and delivery of

passively Q-switched ring resonator with OPO

conversion for WSMR.

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GREGORY A. WITT

Oversaw build of athermal high-energy

designator with direct view telescope for

delivery of ULD-DVO.

Designed and oversaw delivery of 19

ultra-compact rangefinder/designator lasers

using an athermal design and integrated

receiver for the Firefly Program.

Developed and coordinated delivery of

five ultra-compact laser designators for the

LDM project, using an athermal design.

Assisted in developing novel end-

pumped, athermal design to be used in new

generation of ultra-compact designators.

Managed delivery of two improved

beam-quality rangefinder/designator lasers for

DRS project.

Supervised delivery of 11 high-energy

laser rangefinders for the CELS project.

Oversaw delivery of 12 laser

rangefinder/designators for the ASTAMIDS

and SLDR projects building on the legacy

design of WESCAM.

Developed a simulated laser range for

aligning, testing and characterizing receivers.

Directed delivery of three single-

wavelength rangefinder/designator lasers for

the C5 project.

Responsible for defining laser test stations and

data collection used in laser construction.

Senior Laser Engineer/Laser Engineer

Lead engineer responsible for optical design and

laser construction.

Delivered two ultra-compact and

lightweight laser rangefinder/designators for

the WESCAM project, consisting of a ring

laser with optical parametric oscillator (OPO)

conversion and common window for the

rangefinder output, designator output, and

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GREGORY A. WITT

receiver returns.

Delivered two space qualified

conductively cooled diode-pumped slab lasers

with frequency conversion for the CALIPSO

project.

Designed a compact high average and

peak power unstable resonator using two high-

power diode-pumped slabs for the Raytheon

project.

Collaborated in the development of a

high-power dual-sided diode-pumped and

conductively cooled slab for use at high duty

cycles.

Delivered a conductively cooled diode-

pumped slab laser designed for longevity and

space hardened for the Ball project.

Designed and delivered a compact

diode-pumped slab laser that produces high

beam quality in several modes of operation for

the Multifunction Laser System project.

Assisted in the design and construction

of an oscillator/amplifier laser with frequency

conversion for the Navy Blue project.

Advanced OPO design through an

unstable resonator configuration that increased

current output powers while maintaining high

beam quality.

Delivered dual diode-pumped rod

resonators with synchronous common outputs

under the Navy Green project that passed

extensive environmental and vibration tests.

Designed and delivered a rugged hand-

held air-cooled diode-pumped slab laser for the

Lightweight Laser project.

Constructed high beam quality industrial diode-

pumped rod resonators for UTRC Welder and

UTRC Cutter/Driller Laser devices.

Litton Laser Systems, Inc. 1987–1993

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GREGORY A. WITT

Laser Engineer/Senior Associate Laser Engineer

Chief laboratory researcher conducting new

technology development.

Developed advanced Eye-Safe Raman

Converter, which increased output energy by

300 percent and improved output bean

divergence by 25 percent.

Proposed and demonstrated alternative

unstable resonator design that operates with

high brightness for ranging or with spoiled

beam quality for designating.

Created beam propagation models for

resonators and Raman Amplifiers to facilitate

design and optimization. Models incorporated

matrix elements and complex gaussian

parameters.

Evaluated higher efficiency materials,

such as Nd:Cr:GSGG and Nd:Cr:YSGG, as

alternatives to Nd:YAG to enhance the

performance of the current resonators.

Led development of novel unstable

resonator design, which improved output beam

quality by a factor of two while maintaining

the same output power for a comparable stable

resonator.

Implemented improvements to existing

laser transmitter that enabled resonator to

operate as a pulsed burst laser and successfully

pass field tests.

Constructed multi-wavelength lasers using

advanced Raman configuration, which created

longer focal regions inside gas cell.

Master Technician

Supervised laser laboratory operations that

included establishing alignment, diagnostic, and

evaluation techniques for the Technology

Development Department.

Developed medium-energy class, high-

repetition-rate oscillator/amplifier laser,

incorporating optical isolation and optical

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GREGORY A. WITT

phase conjugation.

Constructed single axial mode stable resonators

using internal compensation telescopes, prelase

feedback control, and birefringence

compensation.

General Electric Company 1983–1987

Associate Design Specialist

Senior technician responsible for critical

assemblies, alignments, diagnostic measurements,

and evaluations.

Developed medium-energy class, high-repetition-

rate multi-pass slab laser incorporating a single

axial mode resonator and optical phase

conjugation.

Laser Electro-Optic Technician

Provided laser laboratory support responsible for

assemblies, alignment, and testing.

Performed all laboratory tasks required to

successfully demonstrate a doubled high peak

power Nd:Glass slab laser breadboard and

brassboard.

Fibertek Processes Authored

Cleanroom Protocol

Priming and Bonding With Optical

Adhesive (MilBond)

Staking Fasteners and Hardware with

Structural Adhesive 2216 B/A Gray

Handling, Inspecting, and Cleaning

Laser Optics

Precision Cleaning of Laser

Components

Laser Test Procedures

Contamination Control Plan for Lasers

Monitored Vacuum Processing of Laser

Components

Laser Qualification of Materials

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GREGORY A. WITT

Conformal Coating of Printed Circuit Boards

Staking and Bonding with Structural Adhesive

Hysol 1C

Potting and Encapsulating with Stycast

2651/Catalyst 11

Purge/Fill Procedure for Optical Systems

Helium Leak Test Procedure

Foreign Object Debris (FOD) Control Plan for

Lasers

Awards

Letter of Commendation from Litton Laser

Systems for the successful demonstration of a

scaled up unstable resonator with an Eye-Safe

Raman Converter that met or exceeded all

program goals

Letter of Commendation from Litton Laser

Systems for work done in support of Raman

laser development and high-repetition-rate

medium-energy lasers

Two Individual Excellence Awards from General

Electric Company for exhibiting outstanding

skills in alignment, operation, and diagnostic

measurements and data reduction associated

with laser devices

Publications

“Diode-pumped solid state lasers with

kilowatt average power,” Proc. SPIE 2206

(1994)

“Ultra-Compact Diode-Pumped Slab Lasers,”

Proc. SPIE 2380 (1995)

Patents

“Unstable Laser Apparatus,” U.S. Patent

5,199,042.

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GREGORY A. WITT

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