Within the Department of Defense, he previously served as the OUSD (R&E) Principal Physicist for Directed Energy. Prior to that he served in number of roles at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory including Physics Division Leader, Applied Physics Division Leader, Medical Technology and Biophysics Division Leader. He spent 15 years within the LLNLs Laser Director working on a wide range of projects including laser technology, nuclear weapons physics, and basic science. He has also worked in the areas of space technology, nuclear weapons engineering, biodefense, nuclear non-proliferation, and intelligence.

He served on advisor boards for the University of California at Berkeley, Texas A&M University, and the American Physical Society. He has participated in multiple Defense Science Summer Studies. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, has a BS Degree in Physics from Georgia Tech, and has a PhD in Physics from Yale University.