Jeffrey Koch

Jeffrey Koch, a former Lab researcher, died May 2.

Easily characterized as an innovator, Koch had a decades-long career in inertial confinement fusion and high energy density research. He received his bachelor's degree with honors from Michigan State University in the late 1980s and a master's and Ph.D. from the University of California Davis. He worked at the Lab for almost 20 years.

Koch worked at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) Livermore Operations in 2014 as the group manager for the Science & Advanced Technology Department. In addition to his role as a department manager, he was a representative to the Site-Directed Research and Development program, in which he received multiple awards. While at NNSS, he received multiple patents, wrote several peer-reviewed publications, contributed to multiple national-level technical committees and was a mentor and coach to early career scientists and engineers. 

His last paper, “Spatially Resolved Measurements of Ablation Velocities From Laser-Irradiated Solid Cobalt Targets Using X-ray Doppler Velocimetry,” will be published in a future edition of the journal High Energy Density Physics. In 2016, he also represented the NNSS during a multi-month assignment to National Nuclear Security Administration headquarters and was the secondary assessment technologies contact for the work performed by Mission Support and Test Services, LLC (MSTS).

A memorial service will take place at 11 a.m. Friday, June 7, at Callaghan Mortuary, 3833 East Ave., Livermore. A celebration of life is to be held after the service at a location not yet determined. Any donations can be made in his name to the Tri-Valley Animal Rescue in honor of him and his wife Katherine’s love for their cat.