Professional Background

Leading teams that build real world AI applications to impact the bottom line. Artificial intelligence + physics + supercomputing = unlimited possibilities. Strategic thinker and leader in the realm of science and technology; application of knowledge for the benefit of humanity. Presidential Early Career recipient, Kavli Fellow of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, experienced principal investigator, scientific leader, mentor and educator.

Long track record of developing large-scale science codes. LLM training, benchmarking and agent model development experience, along with deployment in containerized environments. Develop solutions to real-world problems. Expertise in building world-class teams that innovate in order to meet strategic goals. Dr. Belof has authored or co-authored >130 scientific papers and technical reports and >120 invited and contributed talks. Deep understanding of how to make a concept reality, of what works and what doesn't. Leadership of startup companies, including the national security company NETSEC, Inc. (where Jon was the 9th employee, at the age of 22)

Scientific Achievements

• Advanced our understanding of the formation of exoplanets, through high energy density scientific exploration of the properties of iron, and the implications for life beyond the Earth
• Advanced physics and engineering simulation capabilities through innovation of generative and stochastic AI methods applied to field theoretic phenomena
• Contributed toward first demonstration of nuclear fusion ignition in the Laboratory through the development of advanced physics computation and AI methods
• Developed the first predictive theory and simulation approach for phase transformation kinetics at extreme conditions, with applications to complex systems such as the high pressure ice phases of water
• Advancement of new approaches to multiscale modelling, linking the dynamics at the atomistic scale to macroscale experiments
• Through joint theory and experiments, discovered a new mechanism of solid-solid phase transformation that leads to tremendous strengthening of iron at high strain-rate conditions
• Project lead for x-ray diffraction experiments of metals that reveal new mechanisms of phase transformation in zirconium under shock wave compression, highlighted in DOE report to the 116^th U.S. Congress in 2020
• Formulated new Path Integral Monte Carlo approach for the simulation of strongly correlated systems, amenable to next-generation computing platforms
• Advanced seminal methodology and code for simulation of heterogeneous systems such as fluids in Metal-Organic Framework materials
• Discovery of a new class of organometallic chemical bond relevant to radical carbene systems

Research Interests

AI reasoning policy optimization, LLM post-training, agentic systems and tooling, CI/CD containerize AI system deployment

Condensed matter physics, equation of state, non-equilibrium physics, phase and chemical kinetics, matter at extreme conditions, supramolecular chemistry

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Postdoctoral Fellow – High Energy Density Physics, 2010–2011 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Postdoctoral Research Associate – Physical Chemistry, 2009–2010 University of South Florida and Draper Laboratory

Ph.D., Physical Chemistry, 2009 University of South Florida

B.A., Chemistry & Mathematics, 2005 University of South Florida

(2025) PLS Award for publication in the Journal of Weapon Physics, showcasing novel computational optimization methods for design exploration
(2024) Director's Science and Technology, NIF Experiments at LLNL
(2022) Physical and Life Sciences Directorate Award for Publication
(2022) Director's Science and Technology, Excellence in Publication
(2020) Director's Early-Mid Career Award
(2020) Distinguished Alumni Award, University of South Florida
(2019) NNSA Defense Programs Award of Excellence for 2017 Study for Pu Aging Science (conferred by USAF Brig. General Ty Neuman)
(2019) Design Physics Award for Level 1 Milestone
(2019) Design Physics Award for Pu Aging Bounding Study
(2019) Design Physics Award for Publication in the Journal of Weapon Science
(2019) Kavli Fellow, U.S. National Academy of Sciences
(2019) Alumni, Kavli Frontiers of Science
(2018) Phys. Rev. Lett. Editor’s Suggestion for manuscript on freezing kinetics
(2018) Lawrence Livermore Director’s News for review paper on freezing kinetics in water
(2018) Design Physics Award for organization of NEDPC 2017
(2017) Global Security Silver Award for nuclear attribution exercise "London Pride”
(2017) Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, conferred by President Obama
(2016) Global Security Gold Award for nuclear attribution exercise “Mighty Saber 15”
(2014) Lawrence Livermore Director’s News for contributions to shock-wave physics
(2013) Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Award for High-Energy Density Physics
(2012) Journal cover of J. Chem. Phys., Vol. 137, Issue 1, Matanovic et al.
(2011) Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Award for experiments at Los Alamos National Laboratory
(2010) Best Talk Award,Physical Chemistry Division, “Chemical Computations on GPUs ”Symposium, ACS National Meeting (Boston, MA)
(2009) Outstanding Ph.D. Dissertation at the University of South Florida
(2006) Fred and Helen Tharp Graduate Research Award