Lawrence Mark Lidsky (1935–2002) was a professor of

nuclear engineering Nuclear engineering is the branch of engineering concerned with the application of breaking down atomic nuclei (fission) or of combining atomic nuclei ( fusion), or with the application of other sub-atomic processes based on the principles of nu ...

at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern t ...

(MIT). Lidsky was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, on October 15, 1935. He did his undergraduate studies at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to ...

, graduating in 1958, and earned a doctorate in nuclear engineering from MIT in 1962 with a thesis entitled "Plasma Generation and Acceleration", after which he joined the MIT faculty. Lidsky was the advisor to more than 80 graduate students and the founding editor of the ''Journal of Fusion Energy''. In 1983, as assistant director for the MIT Plasma Fusion Center, Lidsky wrote an influential article about the difficulties of making a working

nuclear fusion Nuclear fusion is a reaction in which two or more atomic nuclei are combined to form one or more different atomic nuclei and subatomic particles (neutrons or protons). The difference in mass between the reactants and products is manifest ...

power plant. The ensuing reduction in federal funding for fusion research led him to resign from the center, and caused him to be "drummed out" of the nuclear fusion research community. Because of his concerns with the viability of fusion power, he instead became by 1989 an advocate for safer

nuclear fission Nuclear fission is a nuclear reaction, reaction in which the atomic nucleus, nucleus of an atom splits into two or more smaller atomic nucleus, nuclei. The fission process often produces gamma ray, gamma photons, and releases a very large ...

reactor designs. In 1999 he was named a fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsi ...

"for outstanding contributions to both nuclear fission and fusion in education, research, system design and analysis, technical publications and federal policy".. He died March 1, 2002 in

Newton, Massachusetts Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is approximately west of downtown Boston. Newton resembles a patchwork of thirteen villages, without a city center. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the population of Ne ...

, after struggling with cancer for many years...

Selected publications

*Lidsky, L. M. (1983). ''The Trouble With Fusion.'' Technology Review, 86(7), 32–44

References

External links

Lidsky, Lawrence Mark
MIT Museum Collections - People {{DEFAULTSORT:Lidsky, Lawrence 1935 births 2002 deaths 20th-century American physicists Cornell University alumni MIT School of Engineering alumni MIT School of Engineering faculty American nuclear engineers Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science 20th-century American engineers