E. Michael Campbell, former Associate Director, Laser Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, will join General Atomics, San Diego as Vice President for Laser and Inertial Confinement Fusion Programs.

The following is the text of a news release from General Atomics:

E. Michael Campbell, one of the nation's leading experts in high-power lasers and their applications, has been appointed Vice President for Laser and Inertial Confinement Fusion Programs at General Atomics (GA), it was announced today by GA Chairman Neal Blue.

A former Associate Director for Laser Programs at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Campbell was responsible for all laser and inertial fusion activities at LLNL including the National Ignition Facility (NIF), the isotope separation program, extreme vacuum ultra-violet (EUV) lithography, and numerous Department of Defense applications. NIF, a billion dollar class facility to be completed in the next several years, will be the largest laser facility ever built and the first capable of achieving thermonuclear fusion ignition in the laboratory.

Headquartered in San Diego, California, General Atomics is the site of the largest U.S. industrial fusion energy program, including both magnetic and inertial confinement research carried out for the U.S. Department of Energy. Campbell will report to David Baldwin, Senior Vice President of GA's Fusion Group.

One of Campbell's primary responsibilities at General Atomics will involve the development of a GA program in applications for high-power lasers, which have potential uses not only in fusion research, but also industrial, medical and defense applications.

Campbell has spent his entire professional career at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, beginning as a research scientist in the Inertial Confinement Fusion Program. He became responsible for the Inertial Fusion Program in 1991 and Associate Laboratory Director in 1994. He also played leading roles in LLNL's efforts in ultra-short-pulse, high-peak power lasers, as well as EUV projection lithography, science applications of high-energy lasers, laboratory x-ray lasers, and numerous medical and other spinoffs.

He has published over 100 technical papers and holds four patents. He has received the Department of Energy's Lawrence Award, the Teller Award, the Excellence in Plasma Research Award, the Fusion Power Leadership Award, and the Weapons Research Award. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and has served on a number of panels of the National Academy of Sciences.

In addition to its fusion programs, General Atomics and its affiliates build Predator unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems for the U.S. Government, and provide information technologies, superconducting magnets, hazardous waste destruction systems, TRIGA research reactors, and many other products and services. The company is also developing advanced airborne sensors and electromagnetic aircraft launcher systems.