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Home : Our Work : Areas of Research : Plasma Physics

    Plasma Physics
Phone: (202) 767-5635

 

Overview

The Plasma Physics Division conducts broad theoretical and experimental programs of basic and applied research in plasma physics, laboratory discharge, and space plasmas, intense electron and ion beams and photon sources, atomic physics, pulsed power sources, laser physics, advanced spectral diagnostics, and nonlinear systems. 

The effort of the Division is concentrated on a few closely coordinated theoretical and experimental programs. Considerable emphasis is placed on large-scale numerical simulations related to plasma dynamics; ionospheric, magnetospheric, and atmospheric dynamics; nuclear weapons effects; inertial confinement fusion; atomic physics; plasma processing; nonlinear dynamics and chaos; free electron lasers and other advanced radiation sources; advanced accelerator concepts; and atmospheric laser propagation.

Core Capabilities 

  • Radiation Hydrodynamics - The principal emphasis is in the development and application of theoretical models and state-of-the-art numerical simulations combining magnetohydrodynamics, high energy density physics, atomic and radiation physics, and spectroscopy.
  • Laser Plasma - Primary areas of research include physics underpinnings of laser fusion, high-energy-gain laser-inertial- fusion target designs, experiments and simulations of laser-matter interactions at high intensity, advancing the science and technologies of high-energy krypton fluoride and argon fluoride lasers, advancing the technologies of durable high-repetition-rate pulse power and electron-beam diodes for laser pumping and other applications, laser fusion as a power source.
  • Space and Laboratory Plasmas - Space research includes theoretical, numerical, and laboratory and space experimental investigations of the dynamic behavior of the near-Earth space plasmas and radiation belts, and the modification of space plasmas for strategic effects on HF communications, satellite navigation, over-the-horizon radar, and UHF satellite communications.  Applications-oriented plasma research is performed in the production, characterization, and use of low-temperature plasmas and related technology for applications to advance capabilities across the Navy and DOD.  Pulsed-power investigations include electromagnetic launch science and technology and research on directed energy systems for the U.S. Navy.
  • Pulsed Power Physics - Experimental and theoretical research is performed to advance pulsed power driven accelerator technology in areas relevant to defense applications. Research concerns the production, transport, characterization, and modeling of pulsed plasmas and intense high-power, charged particle beams using terawatt-class hundred-kilojoule pulsed power systems that employ capacitive or inductive energy storage and advanced switching. 
  • Directed Energy Physics - Research encompasses the integration of theoretical/computational and experimental research relevant to DOD, ONR, DARPA, and DoE in the areas of ultra-high field laser physics, atmospheric propagation of intense lasers, advanced radiation and accelerator physics, laser-generated plasma-microwave interactions, and dynamics of nonlinear systems. 

Facilities Fact Sheets

  • Electra Experimental Lab Facility - Electron beam pumped laser.  [ Download PDF]
  • NIKE KrF Laser Target Facility.  [Download PDF]
  • Space Plasma Simulation Chamber.  [Download PDF]

Plasma Physics News

NEWS | July 15, 2026

Naval Research Lab Chemist Receives Krupshaw Award, Inducted as Washington Academy of Sciences Fellow

By Nicholas E. M. Pasquini

WASHINGTON, D.C.   –   U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) Chemist Darryl Boyd, Ph.D., received the Washington Academy of Sciences Krupshaw Award for Non-Traditional Teaching during an awards ceremony held at the Center for Naval Analysis in Arlington, Virginia, May 7.
 
The Washington Academy of Sciences gives awards annually to scientists to recognize scientific work of merit and distinction. Boyd was honored for his extensive and comprehensive efforts as a science teacher, mentor and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) advocate in the Washington, D.C., metro area.

“I was actually surprised to find out that I won the Krupshaw Award! It’s very humbling,” Boyd said. “I must thank my colleague, mentor and friend Paul Charles for nominating me for this honor. He has been a great example for me in the STEM outreach space through the internship programs he has led here at NRL.”

Since 1940, the awards program has generated a catalog of a “golden age” of scientific achievement and leadership. Awardees are immediately elected as a fellow in the Academy.

“Being inducted was a further surprise; finding out that I have been made a Fellow of the Washington Academy of Sciences for Teaching,” he said. “What an honor!”
 
At NRL, Boyd develops novel optical polymers in the Optical Sciences Division. He earned the Krupshaw Award for Non-Traditional Teaching in part for his personal social media efforts as Dr. Boyd The Chemist. Since 2016, he has performed simple and safe science demonstrations as a way to serve the community.

“Boyd has a major footprint in the space of STEM outreach that extends far beyond the borders of NRL,” said NRL Center for Biomolecular Science and Engineering Research Chemist Paul Charles, Boyd’s mentor and colleague.

Boyd has an extensive resume of leadership and science organizational involvement. These include being the former President of the Chemical Society of Washington, a former Councilor for the American Chemical Society (ACS), and a current Executive Board member for the National Organization of Black Chemists & Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE).

“I’m just grateful for the education, training and opportunities I’ve had all along my journey in science, beginning with my parents and continuing to this day,” Boyd said. “Because I’ve been blessed with so much, I feel a strong, but glad, obligation to impart what I can to those who may not have had as rich of a scientific experience as I have had. In all of these efforts, teaching science to the masses is the connecting ideology.”

About the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory
NRL is a scientific and engineering command dedicated to research that drives innovative advances for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps from the seafloor to space and in the information domain. NRL is located in Washington, D.C. with major field sites in Stennis Space Center, Mississippi; Key West, Florida; Monterey, California.

NRL offers several mechanisms for collaborating with the broader scientific community, within and outside of the Federal government. These include Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs), LP-CRADAs, Educational Partnership Agreements, agreements under the authority of 10 USC 4892, licensing agreements, FAR contracts, and other applicable agreements.
 
For more information, contact NRL Corporate Communications at NRLPAO@us.navy.mil.