Office: 110 Holtzendorf Hall
Phone: (864) 656-2542
Email: rjwatki@clemson.edu
PhD, Mechanical Engineering, Naval Postgraduate School, 2004
MS, Astronautical Engineering, Naval Postgraduate School, 1991
BSEE (equivalency), Naval Postgraduate School, 1990
BSChE, Auburn University, 1983
CAPT Watkins is actively involved in Beam Control and Optical Turbulence research, most recently as a Co-PI of a Clemson-led ONR MURI in “High Photon Density Spatiotemporal (OAM+SAM) Vector Beams for Maritime Environments” and as PI of the multidisciplinary Advanced Laser Systems Program, also here at Clemson. He designed and built the Variable Turbulence Generator; a 100 m optical path, controllable turbulence emulator for the Engineered Light Facility at the Anderson innovation campus. This precision instrument is used for investigations into engineered light propagation and control through a realistic, 3-D turbulent environment.
Jaxon P. Wiley, Evan Robertson, Nathaniel A. Ferlic, J. Keith Miller, Richard J. Watkins, and Eric G. Johnson, "High data-rate communication link supported through the exploitation of optical channels in a characterized turbulent underwater environment," Opt. Express 31, 31839-31852 (2023)
Haoqian Song, Runzhou Zhang, Huibin Zhou, Kaiheng Zou, Nanzhe Hu, Xinzhou Su, Hao Song, Kai Pang, Yuxiang Duan, Daeyoung Park, Brittany Lynn, Greg Gbur, Aristide Dogariu, Richard J. Watkins, Jerome K. Miller, Eric Johnson, Moshe Tur, Alan E. Willner, “Investigation of the 2-D modal coupling of a Laguerre Gaussian beam through the dynamic air–water interface,” Optics Communications, Volume 545, (2023)
Martyn Lemon, Evan Robertson, Justin Free, Kunjian Dai, J. Keith Miller, Liam Vanderschaaf, Michael Cox, Richard J. Watkins, and Eric G. Johnson, "Sensing and coupling of optical channels in dynamic atmospheric turbulence using OAM beamlets for improved power and data transmission," Opt. Express 30, 47598-47611 (2022)
Richard J. Watkins, Kunjian Dai, Graham White, Wenzhe Li, J. Keith Miller, Kaitlyn S. Morgan, and Eric G. Johnson, "Experimental probing of turbulence using a continuous spectrum of asymmetric OAM beams," Opt. Express 28, 924-935 (2020)
Wenzhe Li, Kaitlyn S. Morgan, Yuan Li, J. Keith Miller, Graham White, Richard J. Watkins, and Eric G. Johnson, "Rapidly tunable orbital angular momentum (OAM) system for higher order Bessel beams integrated in time (HOBBIT)," Opt. Express 27, 3920-3934 (2019)
Kaitlyn Morgan, J K Miller, B M Cochenour, W Li, Y Li, R J Watkins and E G Johnson, “Free space propagation of concentric vortices through underwater turbid environments”, J. of Optics 18, 104004 (2016).
E. Wang, S. Avramov-Zamurovic, R. Watkins, C. Nelson, and R. Malek- Madani, "Probability density function estimation of laser light scintillation via Bayesian mixtures," J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 31, 580-590 (2014).
