Affiliated Students

Mario received a B.S. in Physics (Honors) and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering (Honors) from the University of Kansas in 2018. The same year he became a PhD student in the Nuclear Engineering & Radiological Sciences department at the University of Michigan, and a graduate researcher in the Center for Ultrafast Optical Science. His research interests include laser-plasma interactions, plasma based electron acceleration and compact betatron radiation sources for dynamic pump-probe experiments.

Research area keywords: Laser Wakefield Acceleration,  Laser-plasma interactions, Relativistic plasma instability

Research profile on Google Scholar.

Jason Cardarelli (he/him) received his bachelor’s degree in physics with honors from the University of South Florida in 2018. He is currently a Ph.D. Candidate in the Nuclear Engineering & Radiological Science department at the University of Michigan, wherein he works in the High-Field Science group of CUOS under the direction of his advisor Dr. Alec Thomas. Now working primarily with the ZEUS laser system at the University of Michigan, Jason has also had the opportunity to work on laser wakefield experimental collaborations at the Gemini Laser in Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, UK; the ALEPH 800nm laser at Colorado State University; and the ALLS laser in Montréal, Canada thanks to both DOE and NSF funding sources. Jason has research experience in laser-wakefield electron acceleration, plasma PIC simulations, optics laboratory equipment, and nanoparticle material science. Jason is expected to graduate during summer 2023.

Research area keywords: high power laser development, high intensity laser-plasma interaction, table-top particle accelerators

Research profile on ResearchGate. 

In 2016, Nicholas received his bachelor’s degree in Physics (with highest honors) from Missouri University of Science and Technology while he competed on the NCAA track and cross country teams. Thereafter he attended the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, where he is currently a doctoral student
in the Applied Physics department with embedded emphasis on plasma physics (Cert. Plasma Science and Engineering) and optics (M.Sc. Electrical Engineering).

He is part of the Center for Ultrafast Optical Science (CUOS) working under the advisership of Dr. Karl Krushelnick. His current projects include experimental and computational work on high intensity laser-plasma interactions for the next generation of table-top particle accelerators and radiation devices. In addition to this, Nicholas has an interest in the development of high power laser systems and has been
involved in design considerations for the ZEUS 3 PW laser.

Outside of the lab, Nicholas can be found running around Ann Arbor, backpacking in the mountains, playing overly complex boardgames, or drinking coffee after mass at St. Thomas the Apostle – Ann Arbor.

In 2022, Nicholas was selected as a Michigan Institute of Plasma Physics and Engineering (MIPSE) Fellow.

Research area keywords: ultrafast optics, ultrahigh intensity lasers, nonlinear optics, laser spectroscopy

Research profile on Google Scholar.

Hao Huang is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Applied Physics Program. He received his B.Eng. from Tianjin University, China, and his M.S. from the University of Michigan. His research interests span the development of novel ultrafast, ultra-intense laser sources and
their applications in spectroscopy and strong-field physics. He is currently working on the development of ultra-intense long-wave infrared lasers.

Research area keywords: laser-induced electromagnetic pulses (EMP), laser-plasma magnetic field generation

Joshua received an A.B. degree in Physics from Princeton University in 2020, publishing work on the physics of solar plasma jets. Upon starting work towards his Ph.D. degree at the University of Michigan’s Center for Ultrafast Optical Sciences, he has taken an interest in the physics of electromagnetic pulse (EMP) generation from laser-plasma interactions and the mitigation of such EMPs for experimental fidelity at the ZEUS laser facility. He is also interested in the generation and destruction of magnetic fields in laser-generated plasmas, conducting experiments at the OMEGA-EP facility at the University of Rochester’s Laboratory for Laser Energetics.

Research area keywords: Lepton spin-and photon polarization-resolved QED simulation, Laser-plasma interaction

Qian received his bachelor’s degree in Apply Physics from Southeast University, Nanjing, in 2018. He is currently a graduate student in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science department at the University of Michigan. His research interest includes lepton spin-and photon polarization-resolved QED simulation and laser-plasma interaction.