Richard Freeman Post (November 14, 1918 – April 7, 2015) was an American

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

notable for his work in

nuclear fusion Nuclear fusion is a nuclear reaction, reaction in which two or more atomic nuclei combine to form a larger nuclei, nuclei/neutrons, neutron by-products. The difference in mass between the reactants and products is manifested as either the rele ...

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 ...

magnetic mirror A magnetic mirror, also known as a magnetic trap or sometimes as a pyrotron, is a type of magnetic confinement fusion device used in fusion power to trap high temperature Plasma (physics), plasma using magnetic fields. The mirror was one of the e ...

magnetic levitation Magnetic levitation (maglev) or magnetic suspension is a method by which an object is levitation (physics), suspended with no support other than magnetic fields. Lorentz force, Magnetic force is used to counteract the effects of the gravitation ...

, magnetic bearing design and direct energy conversion. Post was a winner of 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 ...

and led the controlled thermonuclear research group at

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is a Federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center in Livermore, California, United States. Originally established in 1952, the laboratory now i ...

for 23 years. He held a total of 34

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...

s in the fields of

particle accelerator A particle accelerator is a machine that uses electromagnetic fields to propel electric charge, charged particles to very high speeds and energies to contain them in well-defined particle beam, beams. Small accelerators are used for fundamental ...

s, and electronic and

mechanical energy In physical sciences, mechanical energy is the sum of macroscopic potential and kinetic energies. The principle of conservation of mechanical energy states that if an isolated system is subject only to conservative forces, then the mechanical ...

storage.

Early life and education

Post was born in Pomona, California, the son of Miriam (Colcord) and Freeman Post.Richard Post
at Array of Contemporary American Physicists; accessed 6-28-2013 He is a descendant of colonist Robert Coe. He received a BA in physics from

Pomona College Pomona College ( ) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists ...

in 1940 and a PhD in physics from

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

in 1951. After his PhD, he was inspired to pursue fusion energy research by a college professor.

Career

Post joined the staff at

(LLNL) as leader of the controlled thermonuclear research group until 1974. During this time, he developed many of the concepts behind

s and direct energy conversion. He worked with

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 ...

to develop the stability of plasma inside mirror machines. From 1974 to 1987 he was deputy associate director of the magnetic fusion energy program at LLNL. This was a heavily funded effort by the

United States Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and energy production, the research and development of nuclear power, the military's nuclear w ...

to build a succession of magnetic mirror machines, including the Mirror Fusion Test Facility (MFTF) and the Tandem Mirror Facility. After 1987, Post was senior scientist in the magnetic fusion energy program. He has held advisory roles at

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

, 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 ...

and the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

. His notable work includes inductrack and magnetically levitated

flywheel A flywheel is a mechanical device that uses the conservation of angular momentum to store rotational energy, a form of kinetic energy proportional to the product of its moment of inertia and the square of its rotational speed. In particular, a ...

Personal life

Post and his wife Marylee (a poet) were the parents of actress Markie Post and her two brothers, Steve and Rodney. Although he retired in 1994, Post continued to work in his lab four days a week, up until the week of his death on April 7, 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Post, Richard F. American nuclear physicists 1918 births 2015 deaths People from Pomona, California Pomona College alumni Stanford University alumni Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory staff Fellows of the American Physical Society