Igor Jovanovic Portrait

Igor Jovanovic

Professor

Location

1933 Cooley

Biography

Dr. Jovanovic is a Professor of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences, Professor of Applied Physics, and Professor of Physics (by courtesy) at the University of Michigan. He is the Director of the Neutron Science Laboratory (NSL) and the Applied Nuclear Science Instrumentation Laboratory (ANSIL), and the leader of the Applied Nuclear Science Group. He is a member of the management team of ZEUS, the most powerful laser in the United States. He also served as the Associate Department Chair and Chair of the Graduate Program of NERS.

Dr. Jovanovic received his Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley in 2001. He was a staff physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and a professor at Purdue University and Penn State University. His core expertise is in radiation detection and measurement, intense laser science and technology, and laser-matter interactions. His research interests include nuclear security, nuclear energy, and fundamental science, and he has been supported by DOE, NSF, DHS, DOD, NRC, and industry. He is a member of several large collaborative sponsored research frameworks: NNSA Consortium for Nuclear Forensics, NNSA Consortium for Monitoring, Technology, and Verification, and the DTRA Interaction of Ionizing Radiation with Matter – University Research Alliance.

Dr. Jovanovic has made numerous original contributions to nuclear and optical sciences, including novel detectors based on heterogeneous composites, opaque scintillators, and two-dimensional materials; remote detection of nuclear and chemical threats using laser-produced plasmas; and high-power laser technology based on optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification.

Dr. Jovanovic is a recipient of many awards, including the DARPA Young Faculty Award and the DHS Nuclear Forensics Junior Faculty Award, and he is a Fellow of the American Nuclear Society and a Fellow of Optica. Dr. Jovanovic serves as an Editor for Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Part A and Optics Letters.

Education

University of California, Berkeley

PhD Nuclear Engineering ’01

University of Zagreb

BS/MS Electrical Engineering ’97

Research Interests

  • Radiation detection
  • Lasers and optics

Research areas:
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Honors and Awards

  • Fellow, American Nuclear Society, 2021
  • Fellow, Optical Society, 2019