Ira Borah Bernstein (November 8, 1924 – October 8, 2024) was an American theoretical physicist specializing in

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 ...

. He was the first person to formulate the theory of electrostatic waves propagating in a magnetized plasma in 1958, which are now commonly known as Bernstein waves in

. Bernstein's other theoretical contributions include the development of the energy principle in the study of

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 ...

, as well as formulating the exact (one-dimensional) solution to electrostatic wave propagation in an unmagnetized plasma also known as

Bernstein–Greene–Kruskal modes Bernstein–Greene–Kruskal modes (a.k.a. BGK modes) are nonlinear electrostatic waves that propagate in a collisionless plasma. They are nonlinear solutions to the Vlasov- Poisson system of equations in plasma physics, and are named after ph ...

Life and career

Bernstein studied chemical engineering at the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

(Baccalaureate 1944) and in 1950 received his PhD from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

with his thesis entitled "Improved Calculations on Cascade Shower Theory". From 1950 to 1954, he worked at the Westinghouse research laboratories. From 1954 to 1964, he was a scientist 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 ...

, where he was a participant as a senior scientist in Project Matterhorn when the project involved secret U.S. government research on magnetic fusion. In 1964, he became a professor for applied physics at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, where he was from 1994 "Carl A. Morse" Professor for Mechanical Engineering and Applied Physics. In 2004, he retired with the rank of

professor emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

. He was a research consultant with the research laboratories of

United Technologies United Technologies Corporation (UTC) was an American multinational corporation, multinational list of conglomerates, conglomerate headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut. It researched, developed, and manufactured products in numerous are ...

and

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

, the

Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory (often shortened as Los Alamos and LANL) is one of the sixteen research and development Laboratory, laboratories of the United States Department of Energy National Laboratories, United States Department of Energy ...

, and the

Naval Research Laboratory The United States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is the corporate research laboratory for the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. Located in Washington, DC, it was founded in 1923 and conducts basic scientific research, appl ...

. He was a member of the Fusion Policy Advisory Committee and the Consulting Committee for Fusion Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy. Bernstein died on October 8, 2024, at the age of 99.

Honors and awards

In 1982, Bernstein was awarded the

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 ...

from 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 ...

. In 1984, he was elected a member of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

References

External links

Biography from the APS
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernstein, Ira B. 1924 births 2024 deaths 20th-century American physicists 21st-century American physicists American plasma physicists Scientists from New York City City College of New York alumni New York University alumni Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Fellows of the American Physical Society