Dr. Jay Dawson is the director for the DoD Technologies Program within the NIF & Photon Science Directorate at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). This program applies laser, material science and optical technologies developed by LLNL and NNSA to other national security missions. Dr. Dawson was the DoD Technologies deputy program director from 2015 to 2019. Since joining LLNL in 2002, he has led several LLNL fiber laser projects and grew that portfolio into the Fiber Technologies Group. Between 1993 and 2002, he worked for 3M Company and CiDRA Corporation performing product development of specialty fibers, fiber sensors and fiber Bragg gratings. Dr. Dawson received his B.S. in physics from Carnegie Mellon University in 1988 and a Ph.D. in applied physics from the California Institute of Technology in 1993.