Christopher Barty received his Ph.D. in applied physics from Stanford University and B.S. degrees in chemistry, physics, and chemical engineering from North Carolina State University. He is currently a professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine, a member of the Beckman Laser Institute, chair of the International Committee on Ultrahigh Intensity Lasers and co-founder of Lumitron Technologies, Inc. He is a fellow of OSA, SPIE, APS, IEEE and AAAS. He received the 2018 R. W. Wood Prize from OSA.

Barty’s research interests include the development and applications of short-pulse-duration, ultrahigh-intensity, laser technology and the creation and use of compact, ultrahigh-brilliance x-ray and gamma-ray systems based on laser-Compton scattering. His current efforts aim to enable new x-ray modalities for the precision detection and treatment of disease, novel x-ray studies of ultrafast material dynamics and the emergence of nuclear photonics as new scientific discipline.