Edward E. Thomas Jr. is an American plasma physicist and a Professor of Physics at

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

. He currently serves as the university's

associate dean Dean is a title employed in academic administrations such as colleges or universities for a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, over a specific area of concern, or both. In the United States and Canada, deans are usua ...

for research and graduate studies and is also the university's Charles W. Barkley Endowed Professor for

diversity and inclusion Diversity, in a business context, is hiring and promoting employees from a variety of different backgrounds and identities. Those characteristics may include various legally protected groups, such as people of different religions or races, or ...

. He is a fellow of the

National Society of Black Physicists The National Society of Black Physicists (NSBP), established in the United States in 1977, is a non-profit professional organization with the goal to promote the professional well-being of African Diaspora physicists and physics students within the ...

(2011), the Alabama Academy of Sciences (2012) and the

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of ...

(2015). Thomas's work involves

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs whe ...

and

computational A computation is any type of arithmetic or non-arithmetic calculation that is well-defined. Common examples of computation are mathematical equation solving and the execution of computer algorithms. Mechanical or electronic devices (or, historic ...

plasma physics, specifically in the areas of

dusty plasma A dusty plasma is a Plasma (physics), plasma containing micrometer (10−6) to nanometer (10−9) sized particles suspended in it. Dust particles are charged and the plasma and particles behave as a plasma. Dust particles may form larger particles ...

s and the flow of highly

magnetized Magnetism is the class of physical attributes that occur through a magnetic field, which allows objects to attract or repel each other. Because both electric currents and magnetic moments of elementary particles give rise to a magnetic field, m ...

plasmas. He is currently the director of Auburn University's Magnetized Plasma Research Laboratory, a multi-user facility for the study of highly-magnetized

Early life and career

Thomas received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

from

Florida Institute of Technology Florida Institute of Technology (Florida Tech or FIT) is a private research university in Melbourne, Florida. The university comprises four academic colleges: Engineering & Science, Aeronautics, Psychology & Liberal Arts, and Business. Approxim ...

in 1989. He also attended the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

(MIT) for graduate studies, working on the

Alcator C-Mod Alcator C-Mod was a tokamak (a type of magnetically confined fusion device) that operated between 1991 and 2016 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC). Notable for its high toroidal magnetic ...

and then earning a masters degree in 1993. He later moved to Auburn University where he graduated in 1996 with a Ph.D. in Physics and won an Outstanding Dissertation Award from the

. Upon graduation, Thomas began working as an assistant professor at

Fisk University Fisk University is a Private university, private Historically black colleges and universities, historically black Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus i ...

until 1999. He later returned to Auburn and joined the physics department, where he was promoted to associate professor in 2002 and then full professor in 2007. In 2012, Thomas became the Lawrence C. Wit Professor at the College of Science and Mathematics, and in 2015, the Charles W. Barkley Endowed Professor in the Department of Physics. In 2017, Thomas was promoted to Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies and relinquished his role as Lawrence C. Wit Professor.

Scientific contributions

Thomas studies multiple aspects of plasma physics, including wave-particle interactions in plasma-phase materials and the effects of

microgravity Weightlessness is the complete or near-complete absence of the sensation of weight, i.e., zero apparent weight. It is also termed zero g-force, or zero-g (named after the g-force) or, incorrectly, zero gravity. Weight is a measurement of the fo ...

upon dusty plasmas. Between 1998 and 1999 while at

and subsequently at Auburn University, Thomas received a series of

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

(NSF) grants to develop the use of

particle image velocimetry Particle image velocimetry (PIV) is an optical method of flow visualization used in education and research. It is used to obtain instantaneous velocity measurements and related properties in fluids. The fluid is seeded with tracer particles whic ...

in the study of

s. He was later honored for this work in 2015 by election as a Fellow to the

. In 2009, Thomas led the development of the Magnetized Dusty Plasma Experiment (MDPX), a US$2.1 million

superconducting magnet A superconducting magnet is an electromagnet made from coils of superconducting wire. They must be cooled to cryogenic temperatures during operation. In its superconducting state the wire has no electrical resistance and therefore can conduct much ...

laboratory funded by Auburn University and the NSF. The experiment was designed as part of a multi-user collaborative facility for the study of

s (i.e. the Magnetized Plasma Research Laboratory) and was completed in May 2014. Thomas then began operation of the facility as its director, together with his colleague Uwe Konopka. In 2015, Thomas served an associate editor of the '' Journal of Plasma Physics.''

Honors and awards

Thomas was elected a fellow the

in 2011 and the Alabama Academy of Sciences in 2012. In 2015, Thomas was elected a Fellow of the

for "''the development of particle-image velocimetry in the study of dusty plasmas and for exemplary service to the plasma physics community''".

Selected publications

* * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Edward Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century African-American scientists American plasma physicists Auburn University faculty Florida Institute of Technology alumni Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni Auburn University alumni Fellows of the American Physical Society 21st-century African-American scientists