Plasma Physicists
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This is a list of physicists who have worked in or made notable contributions to the field of
plasma physics Plasma () is a state of matter characterized by the presence of a significant portion of charged particles in any combination of ions or electrons. It is the most abundant form of ordinary matter in the universe, mostly in stars (including th ...
. {, class="wikitable sortable" , - ! Name !! Known for , - , Robert Ellis , Head of experimental projects at the
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory for plasma physics and nuclear fusion science. Its primary mission is research into and development of fusion as an energy source. It is know ...
; co-led the
Spheromak A spheromak is an arrangement of plasma formed into a toroidal shape similar to a smoke ring. The spheromak contains large internal electric currents and their associated magnetic fields arranged so the magnetohydrodynamic forces within the s ...
project , - , Igor Grabec , , Exploration of unstable ionization waves (striations) in a positive column of a glow discharge and corresponding ionization turbulence. , - ,
Hannes Alfvén Hannes Olof Gösta Alfvén (; 30 May 1908 – 2 April 1995) was a Swedish electrical engineer, plasma physicist and winner of the 1970 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). He described the class of MHD waves now ...
, , 1970
Nobel Prize in Physics The Nobel Prize in Physics () is an annual award given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for those who have made the most outstanding contributions to mankind in the field of physics. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the ...
"''for fundamental work and discoveries in magneto-hydrodynamics with fruitful applications in different parts of plasma physics''" , - ,
Irving Langmuir Irving Langmuir (; January 31, 1881 – August 16, 1957) was an American chemist, physicist, and metallurgical engineer. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1932 for his work in surface chemistry. Langmuir's most famous publicatio ...
, , coined the term "plasma" to hint at the lifelike behavior of this state of matter. Developed electron temperature concepts and an electrostatic probe, the
Langmuir probe A Langmuir probe is a device used to determine the electron temperature, electron density, and electric potential of a plasma. It works by inserting one or more electrodes into a plasma, with a constant or time-varying electric potential between ...
. , - ,
Ksenia Aleksandrovna Razumova Ksenia Aleksandrovna Razumova (Russian: ''Ксения Александровна Разумова''; also transliterated Xenia Razumova; born 23 January 1931) is a Russian physicist. She graduated from the Physical Faculty of Moscow University i ...
, , first stable plasmas in tokamaks, first experimental measurement of plasma energy with diamagnetic loop, disruption studies, confinement studies, pioneering female leader of Russian fusion research, Alfvén Prize 2017 , - ,
Anatoly Vlasov Anatoly Aleksandrovich Vlasov (; – 22 December 1975) was a Russian, later Soviet, theoretical physicist prominent in the fields of statistical mechanics, kinetics, and especially in plasma physics. Biography Anatoly Vlasov was born in Balas ...
, , first suggested the
Vlasov equation In plasma physics, the Vlasov equation is a differential equation describing time evolution of the distribution function of collisionless plasma consisting of charged particles with long-range interaction, such as the Coulomb interaction. The e ...
, a correct description of plasma with long-range interaction between particles , - , Andrey Dmitriyevich Sakharov , , proposed the development of the
tokamak A tokamak (; ) is a device which uses a powerful magnetic field generated by external magnets to confine plasma (physics), plasma in the shape of an axially symmetrical torus. The tokamak is one of several types of magnetic confinement fusi ...
device for use in controlled thermonuclear fusion. , - , Boris B. Kadomtsev , , early plasma turbulence theory, stability and nonlinear theory of MHD and kinetic instabilities.
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(1998) , - ,
Katherine Weimer Katherine Ella Mounce Weimer (April 15, 1919 – April 23, 2000) was a research physicist at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory at the Princeton University. She is known for her scientific research in the field of plasma magnetohydrodynamic ...
, , scientific research in the field of plasma magnetohydrodynamic equilibrium and stability theory , - , Yu Lin , , computational research in nonlinear physics in the boundary layers of space plasmas, Katherine Weimer Award (2002). , - , Elena Belova , , numerical contributions to the fundamental physics of magnetically confined plasmas, Katherine Weimer Award (2005). , - ,
Lin Yin LIN or LIN may refer to: People *Lin (surname) (normally ), a Chinese surname * Lin (''The King of Fighters''), Chinese assassin character *Lin Chow Bang, character in Fat Pizza *Lin (NouerA) (Chinese name Lin Hanzhong Korean name Lim Hanjung), a ...
, , research on instabilities and magnetic reconnection in space plasmas and of the physics of relativistic laser-plasma interactions through complex modeling, Katherine Weimer Award (2008). , - , Yuan Ping , , pioneering experiments to explore the interaction of high-intensity laser light with matter, Katherine Weimer Award (2011). , - , Anne E. White , , fundamental contributions to the understanding of turbulent transport in tokamaks, Katherine Weimer Award (2014). , - ,
Félicie Albert Félicie Albert is a French and American physicist working on laser plasma accelerators. She is the deputy director for the Center for High Energy Density Science at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and staff scientist at the Nation ...
, , pioneering development and characterization of x-ray sources from laser-wakefield accelerators, Katherine Weimer Award (2017). , - ,
Maria Gatu Johnson Maria Gatu Johnson (born 1978) is a Swedish-American plasma physicist whose research involves the use of neutron spectrometry to study inertial confinement fusion and stellar nucleosynthesis. She works at the Massachusetts Institute of Technol ...
, , significant contributions to Inertial fusion sciences and pioneering work in Stellar Nucleosynthesis through nuclear measurements, Katherine Weimer Award (2019). , - ,
Kristian Birkeland Kristian Olaf Bernhard Birkeland (born 13 December 1867 – 15 June 1917) was a Norway, Norwegian space physics, space physicist, inventor, and professor of physics at the University of Oslo, Royal Fredriks University in Oslo. He is best remembe ...
, , First suggested that polar electric currents (or
aurora An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...
l
electrojet An electrojet is an electric current which travels around the E region of the Earth's ionosphere. There are three electrojets: one above the magnetic equator (the equatorial electrojet), and one each near the Northern and Southern Polar Circles ( ...
s) are connected to a system of filaments (now called "
Birkeland current A Birkeland current (also known as field-aligned current, FAC) is a set of electrical currents that flow along geomagnetic field lines connecting the Earth's magnetosphere to the Earth's high latitude ionosphere. In the Earth's magnetosphere, th ...
s") that flow along geomagnetic field lines into and away from the polar region. , - ,
Lev Landau Lev Davidovich Landau (; 22 January 1908 – 1 April 1968) was a Soviet physicist who made fundamental contributions to many areas of theoretical physics. He was considered as one of the last scientists who were universally well-versed and ma ...
, ,
Landau damping In physics, Landau damping, named after its discoverer,Landau, L. "On the vibration of the electronic plasma". ''JETP'' 16 (1946), 574. English translation in ''J. Phys. (USSR)'' 10 (1946), 25. Reproduced in Collected papers of L.D. Landau, edited ...
, - ,
Meghnad Saha Meghnad Saha (6 October 1893 – 16 February 1956) was an Indian astrophysicist and politician who helped devise the theory of Thermal ionization, thermal ionisation. His Saha ionization equation, Saha ionisation equation allowed astronomers to ...
, ,
Saha ionization equation In physics, the Saha ionization equation is an expression that relates the ionization state of a gas in thermal equilibrium to the temperature and pressure. The equation is a result of combining ideas of quantum mechanics and statistical mechanics ...
, - , Sydney Chapman , , development of the
kinetic theory of gases The kinetic theory of gases is a simple classical model of the thermodynamic behavior of gases. Its introduction allowed many principal concepts of thermodynamics to be established. It treats a gas as composed of numerous particles, too small ...
, - ,
Vitaly Ginzburg Vitaly Lazarevich Ginzburg ForMemRS (; – 8 November 2009) was a Russian physicist who was honored with the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2003, together with Alexei Abrikosov and Anthony Leggett for their "pioneering contributions to the theory ...
, , theory of
electromagnetic wave In physics, electromagnetic radiation (EMR) is a self-propagating wave of the electromagnetic field that carries momentum and radiant energy through space. It encompasses a broad spectrum, classified by frequency or its inverse, wavelength, ...
propagation in plasmas , - ,
Vitaly Shafranov Vitaly Dmitrievich Shafranov (; December 1, 1929 – June 9, 2014) was a Russian theoretical physicist and Academician who worked with plasma physics and thermonuclear fusion research. Life Vitaly Dmitrievich Shafranov was born in the village o ...
, , theoretical contributions to plasma physics (e.g.
Grad–Shafranov equation The Grad–Shafranov equation ( H. Grad and H. Rubin (1958); Vitalii Dmitrievich Shafranov (1966)) is the equilibrium equation in ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) for a two dimensional plasma, for example the axisymmetric toroidal plasma in a toka ...
, Kruskal–Shafranov instability) , - ,
Willard Harrison Bennett Willard Harrison Bennett (June 13, 1903 – September 28, 1987) was an American scientist and inventor, born in Findlay, Ohio. Bennett conducted research into plasma physics, astrophysics, geophysics, surface physics, and physical chemistry. T ...
, ,
Z-pinch In fusion power research, the Z-pinch (zeta pinch) is a type of plasma confinement system that uses an electric current in the plasma to generate a magnetic field that compresses it (see pinch). These systems were originally referred to simpl ...
is a form of "
Bennett pinch A pinch (or: Bennett pinch (after Willard Harrison Bennett), electromagnetic pinch, magnetic pinch, pinch effect, or plasma pinch.) is the compression of an electrically conducting Electrical filament, filament by magnetic forces, or a device tha ...
". Also invented radio frequency
mass spectrometry Mass spectrometry (MS) is an analytical technique that is used to measure the mass-to-charge ratio of ions. The results are presented as a ''mass spectrum'', a plot of intensity as a function of the mass-to-charge ratio. Mass spectrometry is used ...
. , - ,
Lyman Spitzer Lyman Spitzer Jr. (June 26, 1914 – March 31, 1997) was an American theoretical physicist, astronomer and mountaineer. As a scientist, he carried out research into star formation and plasma physics and in 1946 conceived the idea of telesco ...
, , theoretical contributions to plasma physics,
Spitzer resistivity The Spitzer resistivity (or plasma resistivity), also called 'Spitzer-Harm resistivity', is an expression describing the electrical resistance in a plasma, which was first formulated by Lyman Spitzer in 1950. The Spitzer resistivity of a plasma d ...
, director of Project Matterhorn (1951-1961),
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(1975) , - ,
Marshall Rosenbluth Marshall Nicholas Rosenbluth (5 February 1927 – 28 September 2003) was an American plasma physicist and member of the National Academy of Sciences, and member of the American Philosophical Society. In 1997 he was awarded the National Medal of ...
, , fundamental theoretical contributions plasma physics, and in particular,
plasma instabilities In plasma physics, plasma stability concerns the stability properties of a plasma in equilibrium and its behavior under small perturbations. The stability of the system determines if the perturbations will grow, oscillate, or be damped out. It ...
,
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(1976) , - ,
John M. Dawson John Myrick Dawson (30 September 1930 in Champaign, Illinois – 17 November 2001 in Los Angeles) was an American Computational physics, computational physicist and the father of plasma acceleration, plasma-based acceleration techniques. D ...
, , introduced the use of computer simulation to plasma physics,
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(1977) , - , Richard F. Post, , developed the magnetic mirror concept for magnetic confinement fusion,
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(1978) , - ,
Tihiro Ohkawa was a Japanese physicist whose field of work was in plasma physics and fusion power. He was a pioneer in developing ways to generate electricity by nuclear fusion when he worked at General Atomics. Ohkawa died September 27, 2014, in La Jolla, Cal ...
, , developed the doublet approach for toroidal confinement fusion,
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(1979) , - , Thomas H. Stix, , developed the doublet approach for toroidal confinement fusion,
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(1980) , - , John H. Nuckolls, , introduced the inertial confinement approach to fusion,
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(1981) , - , Ira B. Bernstein, , fundamental theoretical contributions plasma physics including a wave mode in his name,
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(1982) , - , Harold Fürth, , fundamental contributions to plasma physics including resistive instabilities, Director of
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory for plasma physics and nuclear fusion science. Its primary mission is research into and development of fusion as an energy source. It is know ...
(1981-1990),
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(1983) , - , Donald W. Kerst, , invention of the levitated toroidal multipole,
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(1984) , - , John H. Malmberg, , experimental demonstration of Landau damping and development of pure electron plasmas,
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(1985) , - ,
Harold Grad Harold Grad (January 23, 1923 in New York City – November 17, 1986) was an American applied mathematician. His work specialized in the application of statistical mechanics to plasma physics and magnetohydrodynamics. Work In statistical mechan ...
, , theoretical contributions to magnetohydrodynamics,
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(1986) , - , Bruno Coppi, , pioneering work in the conceptual and engineering design of high field tokamaks,
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(1987) , - ,
Norman Rostoker Norman Rostoker (August 16, 1925 – December 25, 2014) was a Canadian plasma physicist known for being a pioneer in developing clean plasma-based fusion energy. He co-founded TAE Technologies (formerly known as Tri Alpha Energy) in 1998 and he ...
, , pioneering theoretical contributions to the statistical mechanics of particles with Coulomb interactions,
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(1988) , - , Ravindra Sudan, , pioneered the study of the generation and propagation of intense ion beams,
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(1989) , - , William L. Kruer, , seminal contributions to the theoretical and experimental understanding of the intense electromagnetic waves with plasmas,
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(1990) , - , Hans R. Griem, , contributions to plasma spectroscopy and spectral line broadening in plasmas,
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(1991) , - , John M. Greene, , contributions to theory of magnetohydrodynamic equilibria and ideal and resistive instabilities,
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(1992) , - ,
Russell M. Kulsrud Russell M. Kulsrud (born 10 April 1928 in Lindsborg, Kansas) is an American physicist who specializes in plasma physics and astrophysics. Kulsrud studied at the University of Maryland where he received his bachelor's degree in 1949, and then at t ...
, , pioneering contributions to basic plasma theory, including magnetic reconnection,
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(1993) , - , Roy W. Gould, , pioneering research in beam-plasma interactions,
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(1994) , - , Francis F. Chen, , pioneering works on electrostatic probes, the plasma physics textbook "''Introduction to Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion"''
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(1995) , - , Thomas M. O'Neil, , seminal contributions to plasma theory, including extension of Landau damping to the nonlinear regime
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(1996) , - , Charles F. Kennel, , fundamental contributions to the basic plasma physics of collisionless shocks
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(1997) , - ,
John Bryan Taylor John Bryan Taylor (born 26 December 1928) is a British physicist known for his contributions to plasma physics and their application in the field of fusion energy. Notable among these is the development of the " Taylor state", describing a mini ...
, , helicity conservation, bootstrap current, ballooning transformation, plasma theory
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(1999) , - ,
Akira Hasegawa is a Japanese theoretical physicist and engineer who has worked in the U.S. and Japan. He is known for his work in the derivation of the Hasegawa–Mima equation, which describes fundamental plasma turbulence and the consequent generation of z ...
, , theories of nonlinear drift wave turbulence, including the Hasegawa-Mima equation
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(2000) , - ,
Roald Sagdeev Roald Zinnurovich Sagdeev (, ; born 26 December 1932) is a Russian expert in plasma physics and a former director of the Space Research Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences. He was also a science advisor to the Soviet President Mikhail Gorba ...
, , contributions to modern plasma theory including collisionless shocks and stochastic magnetic fields
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(2001) , - , Edward A. Frieman, , theory of magnetically confined plasmas, including fundamental work on the formulation of the MHD Energy Principle
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(2002) , - , Eugene N. Parker, , seminal contributions in plasma astrophysics, including predicting the solar wind, explaining the solar dynamo, and formulating the theory of magnetic reconnection
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(2003) , - , Noah Hershkowitz, , fundamental contributions to the physics of low temperature plasmas
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(2004) , - , Valery Godyak, , fundamental contributions to the physics of low temperature plasmas
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(2004) , - , Nathaniel Fisch, , theoretical development of efficient rf-driven current in plasmas
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(2005) , - , Chandrashekhar J. Joshi, , application of plasma concepts to high energy electron and positron acceleration
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(2006) , - , John Lindl, , contributions in high energy density physics and inertial confinement fusion research
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(2007) , - , Ronald C. Davidson, , pioneering contributions to the physics of one-component non-neutral plasmas, first director of
MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center The Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a university research center for the study of Plasma (physics), plasmas, Nuclear fusion, fusion science and technology. It was originally founded i ...
(1991-1996), director of
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory for plasma physics and nuclear fusion science. Its primary mission is research into and development of fusion as an energy source. It is know ...
(1991-1996),
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(2008) , - , Maxim G. Ponomare

, pioneering investigations of disturbances of all plasma species by modeling charged particle emissions from imaginary and additional sources:. Imaginary-emission method for modeling disturbances of all magnetoplasma species: Reflecting and absorbing objects in motion through a rarefied plasma at different angles to the ambient magnetic field (Phys. Rev. E 54, 5591 – Published 1 November 1996)

and First suggested the Resonant Moments method for Enhanced acceleration of electrons populations by crossing electron cyclotron waves in an ambient magnetic fiel



, - , Miklos Porkolab, , pioneering investigations of linear and nonlinear plasma waves and wave-particle interactions
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(2009) , - , James Drake, , theory of the fundamental mechanism of fast reconnection of magnetic fields in plasmas
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(2010) , - , Gregor Eugen Morfill, , discovery of plasma crystals as a solid state of aggregation of dusty plasmas (1994). Former Director of
Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics The Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics is part of the Max Planck Society, located in Garching, near Munich, Germany. In 1991 the Max Planck Institute for Physics and Astrophysics split up into the Max Planck Institute for Extraterr ...
,
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(2011) , - , Liu Chen, , recipient of numerous awards for research on plasma physics (e.g. John Dawson Prize (2004),
Hannes Alfvén Prize The Hannes Alfvén Prize is a prize established by the European Physical Society (EPS) Plasma Physics Division in 2000. The Prize is awarded annually by the European Physical Society at the EPS Conference on Plasma Physics for outstanding work in ...
(2008) and
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(2012)) , - , Phillip A. Sprangle, , pioneering contributions to the physics of high intensity laser interactions with plasmas
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(2013) , - , Clifford Surko, , invention of and development of techniques to accumulate, confine, and utilize positron plasmas
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(2014) , - , Masaaki Yamada, , fundamental experimental studies of magnetic reconnection relevant to space, astrophysical and fusion plasmas
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(2015) , - , Ellen G. Zweibel, , seminal research on the energetics, stability, and dynamics of astrophysical plasmas
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(2016) , - , Dmitri Ryutov, , contributions to the theoretical plasma physics of low and high energy density plasmas
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(2017) , - , Keith H. Burrell, , established the links between sheared plasma flow and turbulent transport
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(2018) , - , William H. Matthaeus, , pioneering research into the nature of turbulence in space and astrophysical plasmas
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(2019) , - , Warren Bicknell Mori, , pioneering contributions to the theory and kinetic simulations of nonlinear processes in plasma-based acceleration
James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, I ...
(2020) , - , Melvin Gottlieb, , responsible for building
Princeton Large Torus The Princeton Large Torus (or PLT), was an early tokamak built at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL). It was one of the first large scale tokamak machines and among the most powerful in terms of current and magnetic fields. Originally ...
and
Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor The Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) was an experimental tokamak built at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) circa 1980 and entering service in 1982. TFTR was designed with the explicit goal of reaching scientific breakeven, the point w ...
at PPPL, director of
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory for plasma physics and nuclear fusion science. Its primary mission is research into and development of fusion as an energy source. It is know ...
(1961-1980) , - ,
Robert J. Goldston Robert James Goldston (born May 6, 1950) is a professor of astrophysics at Princeton University and a former director of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. Early life and education Goldston was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1950, the son of El ...
, , empirical scaling relationship for the confinement of energy in tokamak plasmas, director of
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory for plasma physics and nuclear fusion science. Its primary mission is research into and development of fusion as an energy source. It is know ...
(1997-2008) , - , Stewart C. Prager, , director of the
Madison Symmetric Torus The Madison Symmetric Torus (MST) is a reversed field pinch (RFP) physics experiment with applications to both fusion energy research and astrophysical plasmas. MST is located at the Center for Magnetic Self Organization (CMSO) at the Univers ...
(MST) experiment, director of
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory for plasma physics and nuclear fusion science. Its primary mission is research into and development of fusion as an energy source. It is know ...
(2008-2016) , - ,
Sir Steven Cowley Sir Steven Charles Cowley (born 1959) is a British theoretical physicist and international authority on nuclear fusion and astrophysical plasmas. He has served as director of the United States Department of Energy (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics ...
, , pioneering research in astrophysical and turbulent plasmas, director of
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory for plasma physics and nuclear fusion science. Its primary mission is research into and development of fusion as an energy source. It is know ...
(2018–present) , - ,
Friedrich Wagner Friedrich E. Wagner (born November 16, 1943, sometimes abbreviated as Fritz Wagner) is a German physicist and emeritus professor who specializes in plasma physics. He was known to have discovered the high-confinement mode (i.e. H-mode) of magn ...
, , discovery of H-mode in ASDEX in 1984 , - ,
Anthony Peratt Anthony L. Peratt is an American physicist whose most notable achievements have been in Plasma (physics), plasma physics, plasma petroglyphs, nuclear fusion and the monitoring of nuclear weapons. Education Peratt was a graduate student of Nobel ...
, , influential advocate of
plasma cosmology Plasma cosmology is a non-standard cosmology whose central postulate is that the dynamics of ionized gases and plasmas play important, if not dominant, roles in the physics of the universe at interstellar and intergalactic scales. recount: It ...
, - ,
David Bohm David Joseph Bohm (; 20 December 1917 – 27 October 1992) was an American scientist who has been described as one of the most significant Theoretical physics, theoretical physicists of the 20th centuryDavid Peat Who's Afraid of Schrödinger' ...
, , derived the Bohm sheath criterion, which states that a plasma must flow with at least the speed of sound toward a solid surface , - ,
Eric Lerner Eric J. Lerner (born May 31, 1947) is an American popular science writer and independent plasma (physics), plasma researcher. He wrote the 1991 book ''The Big Bang Never Happened'', which advocates Hannes Alfvén's plasma cosmology instead of t ...
, , pioneer of
focus fusion A dense plasma focus (DPF) is a type of plasma generating system originally developed as a fusion power device, starting in the early 1960s. The system demonstrated scaling laws that suggested it would not be useful in the commercial power role, ...
and advocate of
plasma cosmology Plasma cosmology is a non-standard cosmology whose central postulate is that the dynamics of ionized gases and plasmas play important, if not dominant, roles in the physics of the universe at interstellar and intergalactic scales. recount: It ...
, - ,
Forrest S. Mozer Forrest S. Mozer (born February 13, 1929, in Lincoln, Nebraska) is an American experimental physicist, inventor, and entrepreneur known best for his pioneering work on electric field measurements in space plasma and for development of solid stat ...
, , electric field measurements in space plasma , - ,
Fran Bošnjaković Fran Bošnjaković (1902–1993) was a noted Croatian thermodynamicist considered to be one of the pioneers in the development of technical thermodynamics. Bošnjaković was born in Zagreb, where he was initially educated. He continued his educ ...
, , , - , Jana Brotankova, ,
COMPASS A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with No ...
CASTOR tokamak,GOLEM tokamak , - , Franklin Chang-Diaz , , created the
Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket The Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR) is an electrothermal thruster under development for possible use in spacecraft propulsion. It uses radio waves to ionize and heat an inert propellant, forming a plasma, then a magnetic ...
(VASIMR) concept, an electromagnetic thruster for spacecraft propulsion , - ,
Friedrich Paschen Louis Carl Heinrich Friedrich Paschen (22 January 1865 – 25 February 1947) was a German physicist, known for his work on electrical discharges. He is also known for the Paschen series, a series of hydrogen spectral lines in the infrared region ...
, ,
Paschen's law Paschen's law is an equation that gives the breakdown voltage, that is, the voltage necessary to start a discharge or electric arc, between two electrodes in a gas as a function of pressure and gap length. It is named after Friedrich Paschen who ...
, an equation relating the
breakdown voltage The breakdown voltage of an insulator (electrical), insulator is the minimum voltage that causes a portion of an insulator to experience electrical breakdown and become electrically Conductor (material), conductive. For diodes, the breakdown vo ...
to the gas pressure and electrode gap length , - , Ghulam Murtaza , , , - , Mounir Laroussi , , Plasma pencil, seminal contributions to the biomedical applications of low temperature plasma, plasma medicine , - , Nam Chang-hee, , , - , Li Jiangang , , , - , Harold P. Eubank , , , - , Oscar Buneman , , computational plasma physics and plasma simulation,
Farley–Buneman instability The Farley–Buneman instability, or FB instability, is a microscopic plasma instability named after Donald T. Farley and Oscar Buneman. It is similar to the ionospheric Rayleigh-Taylor instability. It occurs in collisional plasma with neutral ...
, - ,
Peter Debye Peter Joseph William Debye ( ; born Petrus Josephus Wilhelmus Debije, ; March 24, 1884 – November 2, 1966) was a Dutch-American physicist and physical chemist, and Nobel laureate in Chemistry. Biography Early life Born in Maastricht, Neth ...
, , Nobel Prize–winning physicist and chemist, after whom Debye shielding and
Debye length In plasmas and electrolytes, the Debye length \lambda_\text (Debye radius or Debye–Hückel screening length), is a measure of a charge carrier's net electrostatic effect in a solution and how far its electrostatic effect persists. With each D ...
are named , - ,
Philo Farnsworth Philo Taylor Farnsworth (August 19, 1906 – March 11, 1971), "The father of television", was the American inventor and pioneer who was granted the first patent for the television by the United States Government. Burns, R. W. (1998), ''Televisi ...
, , invention of the
cathode-ray tube A cathode-ray tube (CRT) is a vacuum tube containing one or more electron guns, which emit electron beams that are manipulated to display images on a phosphorescent screen. The images may represent electrical waveforms on an oscilloscope, a ...
,
television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
and Farnsworth-Hirsch Fusor , - , Predhiman Krishnan Kaw, , founding director of the
Institute for Plasma Research The Institute for Plasma Research (IPR) is a public research institute in India. The institute conducts research in plasma science, including basic plasma physics, magnetically confined hot plasmas, and plasma technologies for industrial app ...
(1986-2012) , - ,
Radu Bălescu Radu Bălescu (Bucharest, 18 July 1932 – 1 June 2006, Bucharest) was a Romanian and Belgian (from 1959) scientist and professor at the ''Statistical and Plasma Physics'' group of the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB). He studied at the Ti ...
, , recipient of the
Hannes Alfvén Prize The Hannes Alfvén Prize is a prize established by the European Physical Society (EPS) Plasma Physics Division in 2000. The Prize is awarded annually by the European Physical Society at the EPS Conference on Plasma Physics for outstanding work in ...
in 2000 , - ,
Ratko Janev Ratko Janev () (March 30, 1939 – December 31, 2019) was a Yugoslav and Serbian atomic physicist and Macedonian academician. Biography Janev was born on March 30, 1939, in Sveti Vrach, Bulgaria. During his youth he moved to Yugoslavia, where ...
, , , - ,
Rudolf Seeliger Rudolf Seeliger (12 November 1886 – 20 January 1965) was a German physicist who specialized in electric discharges in gases and plasma physics. From 1906 to 1909, Seeliger studied at the University of Tübingen and the University of Heidelberg ...
, , specialized in electric discharges in gases and
plasma physics Plasma () is a state of matter characterized by the presence of a significant portion of charged particles in any combination of ions or electrons. It is the most abundant form of ordinary matter in the universe, mostly in stars (including th ...
, - ,
Subrata Roy Subrata Roy (10 June 1948 – 14 November 2023) was an Indian businessman who founded the business conglomerate Sahara India Pariwar in 1978. Sahara India Pariwar operated a vast number of businesses, such as Aamby Valley City, Sahara Movi ...
, , invention of the
Wingless Electromagnetic Air Vehicle The Wingless Electromagnetic Air Vehicle (WEAV) is a Aircraft#Heavier-than-air – aerodynes, heavier than air flight system developed at the University of Florida, funded by the Air Force Research Laboratory#Air Force Office of Scientific Resear ...
and
serpentine geometry plasma actuator The serpentine plasma actuator represents a broad class of plasma actuator. The actuators vary from the standard type in that their electrode geometry has been modified in to be periodic across its span. History This class of plasma actuators wa ...
, - , Shaukat Hameed Khan , , laser isotope separation, Chief Science Officer of the
Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) () is a federally funded independent governmental agency, concerned with research and development of nuclear power, promotion of nuclear science, energy conservation and the peaceful use of nuclear techn ...
(1969-2005) , - ,
William Crookes Sir William Crookes (; 17 June 1832 – 4 April 1919) was an English chemist and physicist who attended the Royal College of Chemistry, now part of Imperial College London, and worked on spectroscopy. He was a pioneer of vacuum tubes, inventing ...
, , pioneer of
vacuum tube A vacuum tube, electron tube, thermionic valve (British usage), or tube (North America) is a device that controls electric current flow in a high vacuum between electrodes to which an electric voltage, potential difference has been applied. It ...
s and the
Crookes tube A Crookes tube: light and dark. Electrons (cathode rays) travel in straight lines from the cathode ''(left)'', as shown by the shadow cast by the metal Maltese cross on the fluorescence of the righthand glass wall of the tube. The anode is the ...
, - , A A Mamun , , pioneer of nonlinear dynamics of dusty plasma physics, Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award in 2009 from the
Alexander von Humboldt Foundation The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation () is a foundation that promotes international academic cooperation between scientists and scholars from Germany and abroad. Established by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany, it is funded by t ...
, - , Linda Sugiyama , , developer of numerical simulations for plasma physics,
Fellow of the American Physical Society The American Physical Society honors members with the designation ''Fellow'' for having made significant accomplishments to the field of physics. The following lists are divided chronologically by the year of designation. * List of fellows of the ...
, -


See also

*
Whistler (radio) A whistler is a very low frequency (VLF) electromagnetic (radio) wave generated by lightning. Originally published by Stanford University Press, Stanford, California (1965). Frequencies of terrestrial whistlers are 1  kHz to 30 kHz, wi ...
waves * Langmuir waves
Plasma physicists This is a list of physicists who have worked in or made notable contributions to the field of plasma physics. {, class="wikitable sortable" , - ! Name !! Known for , - , Robert Ellis (physicist), Robert Ellis , Head of experimental projects at t ...
Plasma physicists This is a list of physicists who have worked in or made notable contributions to the field of plasma physics. {, class="wikitable sortable" , - ! Name !! Known for , - , Robert Ellis (physicist), Robert Ellis , Head of experimental projects at t ...