Biography:Walter Gekelman
Walter N. Gekelman | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Brooklyn College (B.S.) Stevens Institute of Technology (Ph.D.) |
| Known for | Large Plasma Device |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Plasma physics |
| Institutions | UCLA |
| Thesis | Optical Determination of the Ion and Electron Temperatures in a Barium Q Plasma (1972) |
Walter Gekelman is a plasma physics professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA),[1] and an elected fellow of the American Physical Society.[2] He is known to have developed and constructed numerous meter-long devices to study fundamental plasma processes under laboratory conditions, the largest of which is the Large Plasma Device.[3][4][5]
Early life
Gekelman received a B.S. in physics from Brooklyn College in 1966 and a Ph.D. in experimental plasma physics at Stevens Institute of Technology in 1972.[1]
Career
Gekelman began working at UCLA in 1974. In 1991, he constructed the original 10 meter-long Large Plasma Device (LAPD) to study Alfvén waves in plasmas[6] and was the director of the facility since then until he was succeeded by Troy Carter in 2016.[7] During his tenure as director, the LAPD was upgraded in 2001 to its current 20 meter-long version and became a designated national user facility for the study of basic plasma science, garnering funding support from the National Science Foundation and the US Department of Energy.[8][9] He was also a member of the National Research Council (NRC) Plasma Science Committee and the NRC Burning Plasma Assessment Committee.[1]
Gekelman was also involved in scientific outreach for high school students.[4][6] In 1993, he led the formation of the Los Angeles Teachers Alliance Group (LAPTAG) and created a plasma laboratory for high school students to do research.[10][11][12] The laboratory is a device similar in construct to the LAPD, but smaller.
In 2002, Gekelman was interviewed by Robyn Williams on his science talk show.[13]
Honors
In 1996, Gekelman was elected as a fellow to the American Physical Society for
"a unique, original program of complete and definitive diagnostic studies of magnetic field reconnection and current disruptions in plasmas, achieving major advances and linking space and laboratory plasma physics".[2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 National Research Council (U.S.). Plasma 2010 Committee. (2007). Plasma science : advancing knowledge in the national interest. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. ISBN 978-0-309-10944-4. OCLC 567909228.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "APS Fellow Archive" (in en). https://www.aps.org/programs/honors/fellowships/archive-all.cfm?initial=&year=1996&unit_id=DPP&institution=University+of+California%2C+Los+Angeles.
- ↑ Gekelman, W.; Pfister, H.; Lucky, Z.; Bamber, J.; Leneman, D.; Maggs, J. (1991). "Design, construction, and properties of the large plasma research device−The LAPD at UCLA". Review of Scientific Instruments 62 (12): 2875–2883. doi:10.1063/1.1142175. ISSN 0034-6748. Bibcode: 1991RScI...62.2875G.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Gekelman, Walter (2002). "LAPTAG—A Physics Outreach Program at UCLA" (in en). https://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/200210/viewpoint.cfm.
- ↑ Grossman, Lisa (2010-08-31). "Tube Full of Plasma Creates Solar Eruption in the Lab". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. https://www.wired.com/2010/08/solar-eruption-in-a-tube/. Retrieved 2020-02-16.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Aldag, J. Matthew (2002-03-25). "Unlocking Secrets of Plasma" (in en-US). https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-mar-25-sci-plasma25-story.html.
- ↑ "Troy Carter". http://www.physics.ucla.edu/~tcarter/.
- ↑ Gekelman, W.; Pribyl, P.; Lucky, Z.; Drandell, M.; Leneman, D.; Maggs, J.; Vincena, S.; Van Compernolle, B. et al. (2016-02-01). "The upgraded Large Plasma Device, a machine for studying frontier basic plasma physics". Review of Scientific Instruments 87 (2): 025105. doi:10.1063/1.4941079. ISSN 0034-6748. PMID 26931889. Bibcode: 2016RScI...87b5105G.
- ↑ Wertheim, Margaret (2003-08-19). "Machines Explore Odd Behaviors of Ubiquitous Plasmas" (in en-US). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. https://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/19/science/machines-explore-odd-behaviors-of-ubiquitous-plasmas.html.
- ↑ Gekelman, Walter; Pribyl, Patrick; Birge-Lee, Henry; Wise, Joe; Katz, Cami; Wolman, Ben; Baker, Bob; Marmie, Ken et al. (2016). "Drift waves and chaos in a LAPTAG plasma physics experiment". American Journal of Physics 84 (2): 118–126. doi:10.1119/1.4936460. ISSN 0002-9505. Bibcode: 2016AmJPh..84..118G.
- ↑ Echtebas, Chloe; Hwang, Roland; Shin, Jane; Gekelman, Walter; Pribyl, Patrick; Wise, Joe; Baker, Robert; Lee, Amy (2010). "Experimental Measurement of Whistler Waves at the LAPTAG high school plasma laboratory" (in en). APS 2010: C1.046. Bibcode: 2010APS..APR.C1046E.
- ↑ Layton, William; Gekelman, Walter; Pribyl, Patrick (1999). "LAPTAG High School Plasma Physics laboratory" (in en). APS 41: GP1.10. Bibcode: 1999APS..DPP.GP110L.
- ↑ "LAPD" (in en-AU). 2002-04-18. https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/scienceshow/lapd/3506458.
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