Directed-energy weapons developer Applied Energetics appoints Gregory Quarles as chief executive officer

Gregory Quarles. (Image: OSA)

Directed-energy weapons developer Applied Energetics (OTCQB: AERG; Tucson, AZ) has appointed Gregory J. Quarles as the company's president, chief executive officer, and board member, effective May 6, 2019. Dr. Quarles will lead the company in its development of next-generation advanced defense technologies based on ultrashort pulse and laser guided energy.

Quarles has more than 30 years of experience driving cutting-edge laser, optics, and photonics technology development and operations within industrial companies and has had strategic partnerships with the Department of Defense concerning his work in developing new laser devices for a variety of military, medical, and industrial applications.

Before joining Applied Energetics, Quarles, 57, spent the last six years with The Optical Society of America (OSA; Washington, DC), as a board member and more recently as OSA's chief scientific officer. His responsibilities at OSA encompassed a range of scientific, technical, and engineering infrastructure and included content development for the OSA meetings portfolio, along with many other related projects, highlighted by his reports to Congress. Quarles has been personally involved through OSA in the establishment of partnerships involving major R&D laboratories and global agencies worldwide; he has been a longstanding member of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security, and Sensors and Instrumentation Technical Advisory Committee (SITAC).

In addition to his work at OSA, Quarles is the founder of Opto-Electronic Management Network (Tucson, AZ), a private consulting firm specializing in the laser and materials industry focusing on public policy, defense, and commercial executive oversight of optics and photonics-based research and production. Quarles succeeds Brad Adamczyk at Applied Energetics, who had served as principal executive officer since August 6, 2018. Adamczyk will become chairman of the board of Applied Energetics effective immediately.

Who is Applied Energetics?
Applied Energetics has developed and demonstrated what it has termed "man-made lightning," but what it more formally calls laser guided energy (LGE) and laser-induced plasma channel (LIPC) technology. In operation, an ultrafast laser creates a plasma channel in the air through which high-voltage electricity can then be channeled; the channel is straight and aimable and can be tuned from less-than-lethal to lethal.

Applied Energetics emphasizes that, unlike other directed-energy weapon technologies such as laser and microwave beams, the IP of which is not entirely owned by anyone, Applied Energetics holds "all crucial intellectual property rights" to LGE and LIPC technology. The company has launched a targeted business development effort to engage both the U.S. government and existing team partners; efforts have already produced requests for information and many important introductions to potential AE customers, says Applied Energetics.

"With the current growth in funding in the Directed Energy domain and the rapid expansion of applications for the ultrashort pulse lasers in Defense and Homeland Security, these are exciting times to lead the insertion of new products into these sectors," says Quarles. "The team of contributors at AERG, the strength of the IP portfolio and the challenge of competing in these domains and collaborating with established partners pointed to this being a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Source: Applied Energetics