Faculty

William Barletta
Adjunct Professor of Physics

William A. Barletta, Adjunct Professor of Physics

Name: William A. Barletta

Title(s): Adjunct Professor of Physics

Email: barletta@mit.edu

Phone: (617) 253-6502

Address:

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
77 Massachusetts Avenue, Bldg. 26-540
Cambridge, MA 02139

Related Links:

Area of Physics:

Intermediate Energy Physics

Research Interests

Accelerators are essential engines of discovery in fundamental physics, biology, and chemistry. Particle beam-based instruments in medicine, industry and national security constitute a multi-billion dollar per year industry. Designing and building accelerators whether large or small requires a synthesis of beam physics, electrical and mechanical engineering, a practical knowledge of materials and fabrication techniques, and an understanding of the scientific or applied enterprise that the machine will serve. In addition to these instrumental applications of accelerators, the physics of particle beams is, in its own right, an area of research rich in intellectual challenges and rewards.

William Barletta maintains a broad range of professional research activities that include free electron laser physics, the design of instruments for high energy and nuclear physics and for ultra-fast synchrotron radiation science, ion beam technology for nanofabrication, and interactive technologies for cargo inspection. In addition he has a strong secondary research interest in international legal and policy aspects of cyber-security and cyber-conflict. As Director of the U.S. Particle Accelerator School, he is responsible for a national graduate program that covers all aspects of accelerator science and technology that are crucial to facilities for accelerator-based science.

Biographical Sketch

William Barletta received his Ph.D. in experimental high energy physics from the University of Chicago in 1972. After a term as instructor of physics at Yale University, he joined Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory where he held several research and management positions. From 1993 – 2006, he served as Director of the Accelerator and Fusion Research Division at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.  While at Berkeley he was also founding Director of the Homeland Security and Non-proliferation Program.  He is the coordinating editor-in-chief of the international journal,  “Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research – A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment”.  He is a fellow of the American Physical Society.

Selected Publications

  • “VUV and X-Ray Free Electron Lasers: The Technology and Its Scientific Promise,” W. Barletta and C. Rizzuto, Rivista del Nuovo Cimento 29 (6-7), pp. 1-104 (2007)
  • "Implementation and Science and Technology" W. A. Barletta, C. Flynn, F. Greene, H. Kowalski, B. Laybourne, B. Steinhardt, in International Strategy for Cyberspace Security, Jody R. Westby, ed, American Bar Association, August, 2003
  • “Simulation studies of a possible multi-stage XFEL at ELETTRA,” W. M. Fawley, W. A. Barletta, C. J. Bocchetta and R. Bonifacio, Nuc. Inst. and Meth., V. 507, pp 396-399, (2003)
  • "Halo particle confinement in the VLHC using optical stochastic cooling", A. A, Zholents, W. A. Barletta, M. Zolotorev, Proc. EPAC 2002, (July, 2002)
  • “Multi-aperture extraction system with micro-beamlet switching capability,” Y. Lee, W. Barletta, K. N. Leung, V. Ngo, P. Scott, M. Wilcox, N. Zahir, Nucl. Inst. Meth., A 474, Nov (2001)
  • "Micro-Ion Beam Reduction Lithography", K.N. Leung, W.A. Barletta, T. J. King, Y.Y. Lee, J. Vac. Sci. & Tech. B: Microelectronics and Nanometer Structures, 17, 6, p. 2783-2790 (1999)
  •  “Relativistic theory of the collective atomic recoil laser,” R. Bonifacio, L. De Salvo and W. A. Barletta, Nucl. Inst. Meth., A 384, Pages 337-341, (1997)
  • “Transverse Laser Cooling of Two Level Particle Beams”, L. DeSalvo, W. A. Barletta, R. Bonifacio, Optics Communications  116 (4-6), pp. 374-376, (1995)