John M. Dawson
John Myrick Dawson ( born September 30, 1930 in Champaign, Illinois; † 17 November 2001 in Los Angeles ) was an American physicist who dealt in particular with plasma physics. He was considered a pioneer in numerical simulation of plasmas and plasma -based accelerator concepts.
Biography
Dawson studied at the University of Maryland, where he 1952 a bachelor's degree in 1954 and his master's degree made in 1957 received his doctorate. From 1956 he was at the Matterhorn project ( for magnetic fusion experiments ) in Princeton as a scientist and from 1962 at the Plasma Physics Laboratory of Princeton University. In 1964 he became Deputy Head of the Theory Group in 1966 and its director. At the same time, he was from 1960 to 1973 Lecturer at Princeton University. 1969/70 he was in between at the Naval Research Laboratories, where he set up a group for the numerical simulation of plasmas. In 1973 he was a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he was from 1976 to 1987 director of the Institute for Plasma Physics and Fusion Engineering. 1987 to 1989 he was Deputy Director of the Institute from 1993 to 1996 and interim director. From 1996 he was director there for new projects. In 2001, he went into retirement. He was a consultant at RCA Corporation (1962 /63), Boeing (1964) and 1973 to 1986 at TRW Systems.
Dawson was a leading plasma physicists in the United States, which dealt with almost all aspects of basic research in plasma physics to space plasmas and astrophysics to fusion research ( magnetic fusion and inertial confinement fusion ), accelerator concepts with plasmas and free electron lasers. In particular, he focused on numerical simulation ( particle in cell computer model) of plasmas. He held several patents. Among his innovations (sometimes with others) include the Plasma Beat Wave Accelerator, Laser Wake Field Accelerator, the photon accelerator, the plasma lens, the plasma wiggler and ion channel laser.
He was also involved in isotope separation applications on palladium isotopes in the radiation treatment of tumors ( which he was particularly proud of, according to his obituary as he himself fell ill mid-1970s to prostate cancer and the technology developed, as he recovered from the disease) and wrote a book for children Grandpa'sa Scientist. Dawson was a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the New York Academy of Sciences and a Fellow of the American Physical Society, the board of the Plasma Physics Division of the 1970/71 was in 1977. He received the 1977 James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics and the 1994 Aneesur -Rahman Prize of the American Physical Society for numerical physics. He was a Fulbright Fellow ( as a visiting scientist at Nagoya University 1964/65 ), received awards for teaching from UCLA and was California Scientist of the Year.
In his honor, the John M. Dawson is named price of Plasma Physics of the American Physical Society, awarded since 1983.