Mr. Nees is investigating the use of extremely high optical fields in driving matter into the relativistic domain. His current projects include solid-density laser interactions, x-ray generation for application to mammography and other hyperspectral imaging, ultrafast-laser based materials science, a novel technique for laser isotope separation and the generation of attosecond electron bunches and electromagnetic impulses. He is investigating the generation of positrons from relativistically strong laser pulse interactions with plasma and his collaborating in the development of a new line of investigation into radiation back reaction in ultra-intense fields.

Mr. Nees was granted the 2006 Outstanding Investigator of the Year Award by the University of Michigan College of Engineering for his work spanning from picosecond optoelectronics to relativistic plasma research, in addition to teaching Advanced Lasers and Optics (EECS 438) for several years.

In 2017 John Nees was elected to Fellow of the Optical Society of America for “contributions to the development of short pulse high rep rate laser technology as well as to the science of high intensity short pulse laser interactions with matter.”

In 2020 John Nees received the Kenneth M. Reese Outstanding Research Scientist Award from the College of Engineering