AFRL physicist directs energy toward research Published July 30, 2015 By Jeanne Dailey Air Force Research Laboratory KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- Air Force Research Laboratory physicist Mark Spencer is passionate about the Air Force and his work with AFRL's Directed Energy Directorate at Kirtland. Put simply, his job is to find ways to deliver energy from a laser system to a target, he said. Directed energy weapons could make fundamental changes to the ways wars are fought, he said. He works on systems that can provide varying lethality, speed-of-light delivery and unparalleled precision, he said. "We call this directed energy beam control, and my colleagues and peers consider me to be a beam control subject matter expert," he said. "I believe my work is important to the Air Force. Hopefully, within my lifetime, the research I do will give rise to truly advanced tactical abilities for the warfighter." Spencer -- who is from Hemet, a small farming community in Southern California -- attributes much of his scientific abilities to the way his mother and stepfather raised him. "My stepfather and I were always in the garage together, tinkering with something mechanical, figuring out how it worked and how we could make it go faster," he said. He received his undergraduate degree in physics from the University of Redlands in 2008, graduating magna cum laude with departmental honors. "I love that I went to a small liberal arts university, less than 5,000 students. I feel like I obtained a very personalized education," he said. He went on to earn a master's degree and a doctorate of philosophy in optical sciences and engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Spencer's interest in working for the Air Force was sparked by a Directed Energy Directorate summer internship. "I became hooked on DOD-based research, specifically directed energy research. For me, it's the right combination of mathematics, physics and engineering," he said. Robert Peterkin, Directed Energy Directorate chief scientist, said Spencer has done a great service to the country. Peterkin nominated Spencer to serve as Air Force representative to a DOD-wide technical working group for the High Energy Laser Joint Technology Office. "Mark is a brilliant scientist and as an expert in beam control he is making a huge contribution to the nation," he said. "Mark's drive and enthusiasm for his work are phenomenal. He continually challenges himself." Spencer is also teaching an eight-week course on linear systems in optics to about 30 AFRL scientists and engineers at Kirtland. The course is for those who need an introductory or refresher on fundamental concepts. He teaches the same material twice a week so more busy AFRL researchers can attend, he said. "I developed the course from the ground up and am very passionate about it," he said. He is also mentoring two interns this summer. "I try to remember what it was like to need help grasping a fundamental concept or need assistance making my final poster," he said. "It takes a lot of time and effort to be a good mentor, but it is a highly rewarding process." Spencer wants to become a tenured professor at a university, perhaps one of the service academies, AFIT or the Naval Postgraduate School. "This would allow me to satisfy my itch to mentor and teach and continue to develop directed energy technology with my research," he said.