Biography
Research interests
I am a chemical engineer supporting Optics Processing for NIF & Photon Science. I develop cleaning, etching, and coating processes to improve the laser damage threshold of NIF final optics.
Current position(s)
Process Engineer for Optical Materials Science & Technology (OMST)
Highlights
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qT48BVsI84
https://lasers.llnl.gov/news/nifs-optics-meet-the-demands-of-increased-laser-energy
Subject Matter Expertise
Sol-gel anti-reflective coatings
Etching processes to improve the laser damage threshold of fused silica optics
Education
- Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, 2010
- B.S., Chemical Engineering, The Ohio State University, 2006
Publications
2023 1 publication
- Selected publications Jean-Michel G. Di Nicola, et al., "Recent laser performance improvements and latest results at the National Ignition Facility," Proc. SPIE PC12401, High Power Lasers for Fusion Research VII, PC1240103 (17 March 2023)
2022 1 publication
- H. Abu-Shawareb et al., “Lawson Criterion for Ignition Exceeded in an Inertial Fusion Experiment,” (2022), Phys. Rev. Lett. 129, 075001.
2019 3 publications
- Runkel, M., VanBlarcom, D., Drachenberg, D., Monticelli, M., Davalos, G., Davis, S., Schenkel, N., Cook, M., Crist, P., Messerly, M., Dawson, J., Suratwala, T., “Cleaning protocols for fabrication of fibers for kilowatt-class lasers,” (2019) Proc. SPIE 11206.
- Zhi M. Liao, C. W. Carr, D. Cross, C. Miller, P. Miller, M. Monticelli, B. Olejniczak, R. Raman, D. VanBlarcom, B. Welday, P. Whitman, L. Wong, and T. Suratwala "Damage performance of fused silica debris shield at the National Ignition Facility", Proc. SPIE 11173, Laser-induced Damage in Optical Materials 2019, 111730Y (20 November 2019).
- B.J. MacGowan, P. Michel, M. Biener, D. A. Callahan, J-M Di Nicola, A. Kemp, T. Chapman, R. L. Berger, N. Lemos, L. Divol, O. S. Jones, R.Kirkwood, O. L. Landen, R Lowe-Webb,, N. B. Meezan, J. D. Moody, A. Nikroo, A Peer, S. Schiaffino, J. Ralph, D. J. Strozzi, D. Van Blarcom, P. Whitman and C. Widmayer, “Variability of Stimulated Brillouin Scattering from NIF Hohraums,” 49th Annual Anomalous Absorption Conference, Telluride, CO, June 2019.
2018 1 publication
- Diana VanBlarcom, Derrek (Reggie) Drachenberg, Marcus Monticelli, Gabriel Davalos, Steve Davis, Nick Schenkel, Matt Cook, Parker Crist, Phil Miller, Michael Messerly, Jay Dawson, and Tayyab Suratwala, Novel AMP surface treatment for improving laser optical fiber strength and laser gain, Boulder Laser Damage Symposium, Paper 10805-69 (September 2018).
2017 4 publications
- C. L. Haefner, A. Bayramian, S. Betts, R. Bopp, S. Buck, J. Cupal, M. Drouin, A. Erlandson, J. Horácek, J. Horner, J. Jarboe, K. Kasl, D. Kim, E. Koh, L. Koubíková, W. Maranville, C. Marshall, D. Mason, J. Menapace, P. Miller, P. Mazurek, A. Naylon, J. Novák, D. Peceli, P. Rosso, K. Schaffers, E. Sistrunk, D. Smith, T. Spinka, J. Stanley, R. Steele, C. Stolz, T. Suratwala, S. Telford, J. Thoma, D. VanBlarcom, J. Weiss, and P. Wegner, High average power, diode pumped petawatt laser systems: a new generation of lasers enabling precision science and commercial applications, Proc. SPIE 10241, Research Using Extreme Light: Entering New Frontiers with Petawatt-Class Lasers III, 1024102 (26 June 2017).
- C. W. Carr, J. Bude, P. E. Miller, T. Parham, P. Whitman, M. Monticelli, R. Raman, D. Cross, B. Welday, F. Ravizza, T. Suratwala, J. Davis, M. Fischer, R. Hawley, H. Lee, M. Matthews, M. Norton, M. Nostrand, D. VanBlarcom, and S. Sommer, Damage sources for the NIF Grating Debris Shield (GDS) and methods for their mitigation, Proc. SPIE 10447, Laser-Induced Damage in Optical Materials 2017, 1044702 (29 November 2017).
- Bude, J.; Carr, C. W.; Miller, P. E.; Parham, T.; Whitman, P.; Monticelli, M.; Raman, R.; Cross, D.; Welday, B.; Ravizza, F.; Suratwala, T.; Davis, J.; Fischer, M.; Hawley, R.; Lee, H.; Matthews, M.; Norton, M.; Nostrand, M.; VanBlarcom, D.; and Sommer, S., Particle damage sources for fused silica optics and their mitigation on high energy laser systems, Optics Express 25 (10), 11414-11435 (2017).
- S. Elhadj, W.A. Steel, D.S. VanBlarcom,1 R.A. Hawley, K.I. Schaffers, and P. Geraghty, Scalable process for the mitigation of laser-damaged potassium dihydrogen phosphate crystal optic surfaces with effective removal of the damaged antireflective coating, Applied Optics 56 (8), 2217-2225 (2017).
2016 2 publications
- Diana VanBlarcom, Marcus Monticelli, Gabriel Davalos, Phil Miller, David Cross, and C. Wren Carr, Damage Performance of Sol-gel Anti-reflective Coatings for the National Ignition Facility, Optical Interference Coatings, WD.10 (2016).
- N.A. Peppas and D.S. VanBlarcom, Hydrogel-based biosensors and sensing devices for drug delivery, Journal of Controlled Release 240, 142–150 (2016).
2011 1 publication
- D.S. VanBlarcom and N.A. Peppas, Microcantilever sensing arrays from biodegradable, pH-responsive hydrogels, Biomedical Microdevices 13 (5), 829-836 (2011).
2010 1 publication
- D.K. Snelling, Biodegradable Microdevices for Biological Detection and Smart Therapy, Dissertation, The University of Texas at Austin (May 2010).
2006 1 publication
- D.K. Snelling and J.L. Zakin, Surfactant drag reduction using mixed counterions, Undergraduate honors thesis, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio (May 17, 2006).
Awards
DOE Secretary’s Honor Achievement Award for NIF Fused Silica Debris Shield Implementation, 2023
Outstanding Mentor Award – LLNL, 2018
NIF & Photon Science Award – First successful design, fabrication, and testing of a 1kW Fiber Laser, 2018
R&D 100 Award Finalist, Laser Damage Resistant Anti-Reflection Grating Debris Shield, 2017
Director’s S&T Award, High-Repetition-Rate Advanced Petawatt Laser System milestone, 2017
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, 2007-2010


