Laser Modeling With Wolfram Mathematica Published Oct. 11, 2009 By Mary Rodriguez Directed Energy KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, New Mexico -- Air Force Research Laboratory scientists at the Directed Energy Directorate's Laser Division developed an extensive modeling and simulation software package in Mathematica to model fiber laser amplifiers. The modeling package is one of the world's most comprehensive. Mr. Clint Zeringue, AFRL's primary developer, and Wolfram Research, the Mathematica developer, were able to create an easy-to-use graphical environment that makes the software package accessible to nonmathematical users and reduces simulation time from 15 min to approximately 15 sec. Air Force scientists and engineers will use the enhanced technology as a framework for fiber laser concept modeling, study, and simulation. Development of a comprehensive laser modeling package capturing the physics of a fiber laser is a tremendous challenge. In an effort to achieve superiority in this capacity, AFRL researchers worked extensively on developing a Mathematica-based software application for simulating fiber lasers. The makers of the computation script language used for this model, Wolfram Mathematica, invite applicants from across the globe to participate in a comprehensive 2-week program in which researchers work one-on-one with senior Mathematica developers. In 2009, the company received over 400 applications, and Mr. Zeringue was among the 20 accepted applicants. The goals of the project were to enhance the speed and efficiency of the already developed in-house model and also to create a graphic environment so that researchers not familiar with Mathematica could leverage the tremendous capabilities of the Laser Division's model. In addition, researchers created a powerful, easy-to-use graphical environment to run the software. Due to the tremendous success of AFRL's laser modeling project, Mr. Zeringue is speaking at the annual International Mathematica User Conference