This page contains archived content on a former member of the Jefferson Lab leadership team.
Dr. Fred Dylla
Former FEL Program Director (1998 - 2006)
Former Chief Technology Officer (2002 - 2007)
Dr. Fred Dylla served as the Chief Technology Officer and the Program Manager of the Free-Electron Laser project for the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. His responsibilities as Chief Technology Officer were twofold. He ensured awareness of new and developing technologies that could be used to enhance or improve Jefferson Lab's scientific program and led JLab's Technology Transfer team to identify commercialization opportunities for Lab-developed technologies. To this end, he managed the Lab's intellectual property portfolio, patents, and licensing efforts, and developed funding sources for JLab technology advancement programs. He oversaw a variety of technology development activities at the Lab, including a series of medical imaging projects developed by the Lab's Detector Group.
As the FEL program manager, he was responsible for Jefferson Lab's Free-Electron Laser, a major initiative funded through the Office of Naval Research that used Jefferson Lab's key technology (superconducting radiofrequency cavities) to produce high average power, coherent light. The first version of the machine, the Infrared Demo FEL, broke world records for laser light and terahertz radiation before being shut down at the end of 2002 for a major machine upgrade. The newly commissioned FEL achieved first light in June 2003 and was designed to set new infrared, ultraviolet, and terahertz records and had already produced a record of 10,000 watts IR light.
Dr. Dylla also served as the Lab's DOE Coordinator of Homeland Security activities and identified opportunities and funding options for JLab technologies relevant to homeland security.
Dr. Dylla joined the Lab in 1990 and concurrently held an Adjunct Professorship in Physics and Applied Science at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. The author of over 170 publications in archival journals and books, Dr. Dylla received his B.S. and M.S. and Ph.D. in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1971 and 1975 respectively.
From 1975-1990, he held various research and management positions at Princeton University's Plasma Physics Laboratory, including responsibility for the design and operations of the vacuum systems, gas injection systems, and vacuum diagnostic for the large tokamaks at Princeton. He developed glow discharge conditioning procedures that were widely used in fusion, accelerator, and materials processing systems. He was president of Princeton Scientific Consultants from 1981-1990, a firm specializing in ultrahigh vacuum and plasma technology.
Dr. Dylla was the Past-President of the American Vacuum Society where he was elected a fellow in 1998 and was currently a distinguished lecturer for the society. He was a member of the American Physical Society where he was elected a fellow in 2001. He was a founding member of the Forum on Industrial and Applied Physics of the APS. In 2003, the American Vacuum Society awarded a lifetime Honorary Membership to Dr. Dylla, in recognition of his scientific contributions, for his extensive service to the Society, and his work to preserve the legacy of the organization's first 50 years. He was an active member in numerous local and regional technology development organizations and had served on many national advisory committees for the Department of Energy.