Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Physics

Biographical Sketch:

Prof. Ren received his B.S. (1990) and M. S. (1993) degrees in Physics from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. He received his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1998. He was a postdoctoral researcher and then a staff researcher at UCLA before joining the University as an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and a Scientist of the Laboratory for Laser Energetics in 2004. In 2005, he received a joint appointment as Assistant Professor of Physics. In 2006, he was awarded a Faculty Development Award in Plasma Physics from the Department of Energy.

Research:

Prof. Ren's research interest is generally in the area of theoretical and computational Plasma Physics. In particular, he works to apply plasma physics to a wide range of applications including astrophysics, inertial confinement fusion (ICF), plasma-based accelerators, and new radiation sources. Since these applications usually involve a very high energy density driver, his research also falls under the so-called High Energy Density Physics (HEDP) umbrella. A key characteristic of his research in this complex and highly nonlinear area of physics is the interplay between theoretical analysis and large-scale Paricle-in-Cell (PIC) simulations. Currently he is actively seeking students to work in this exciting new field.

Recent Publications:

• Mutual Attraction of Laser Beams in Plasmas: Braided Light
  C. Ren, R. G. Hemker, R.A. Fonseca, B. J. Duda, and W. B. Mori
  Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 2124 (2000)
• Compressing and focusing a short laser pulse by a thin plasma lens
  C. Ren, B. J. Duda, R. G. Hemker, W. B. Mori, T. Katsouleas, T. M. Antonsen, Jr., and P. Mora
  Phys. Rev. E 63, 026411 (2001)
• Proton Shock Acceleration in Laser-Plasma Interactions
  L. O. Silva, M. Marti, J. R. Davies, R. A. Fonseca, C. Ren, F. S. Tsung, and W. B. Mori
  Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 015002 (2004)
• Nonlinear and three-dimensional theory for cross-magnetic field propagation of short-pulse lasers in underdense plasmas
  C. Ren and W. B. Mori
  Phys. Plasmas 11, 1978 (2004)
• Global Simulation for Laser-Driven MeV Electrons in Fast Ignition
  C. Ren, M. Tzoufras, F. S. Tsung, W. B. Mori, S. Amorini, R. A. Fonseca, L. O. Silva, J. C. Adam, and A. Heron
  Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 185003 (2004)