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Walter N. Gekelman is an experimental plasma physicist and a professor emeritus at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He is known for the development and construction of the Large Plasma Device (LAPD), an over 20-meter long cylindrical plasma device to study fundamental plasma processes, such as Alfvén waves and magnetic flux ropes, under laboratory conditions. He is an elected fellow of the American Physical Society.

Early life and career

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.

Gekelman joined UCLA in 1974. In 1991, he constructed the original 10-meter-long LAPD to study Alfvén waves in plasmas and served as the director of the facility for 15 years until he was succeeded by Troy Carter in 2016. During his tenure as director, the LAPD was upgraded to a 20-meter long version in 2001 and became a designated national user facility for the study of basic plasma science, which garnered funding support from the National Science Foundation and the US Department of Energy. He was also a member of the National Research Council (NRC) Plasma Science Committee and the NRC Burning Plasma Assessment Committee.

Scientific outreach

Gekelman was involved in scientific outreach for high school students. In 1993, he led the formation of the Los Angeles Teachers Alliance Group (LAPTAG) and established a plasma laboratory for high school students to conduct research that was subsequently published. 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 to discuss the LAPD. He also appeared in the Death Stars episode of Phil Plait's science TV documentary Bad Universe in 2010.

Gekelman also collaborates with UCLA's Art Sci Center as a scientist to deliver public lectures and create works of art inspired by plasma physics.

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".

References

1. "UCLA Physics & Astronomy". www.pa.ucla.edu. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
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.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
3. 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. Bibcode:1991RScI...62.2875G. doi:10.1063/1.1142175. ISSN 0034-6748.
4. ^ Gekelman, W.; Pribyl, P.; Lucky, Z.; Drandell, M.; Leneman, D.; Maggs, J.; Vincena, S.; Van Compernolle, B.; Tripathi, S. K. P. (2016). "The upgraded Large Plasma Device, a machine for studying frontier basic plasma physics". Review of Scientific Instruments. 87 (2): 025105. Bibcode:2016RScI...87b5105G. doi:10.1063/1.4941079. ISSN 0034-6748. PMID 26931889.
5. Gekelman, Walter; Vincena, Stephen; Leneman, David; Maggs, James (1997). "Laboratory experiments on shear Alfvén waves and their relationship to space plasmas". Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics. 102 (A4): 7225–7236. doi:10.1029/96JA03683. ISSN 0148-0227.
6. Grossman, Lisa (August 31, 2010). "Tube Full of Plasma Creates Solar Eruption in the Lab". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
7. Gekelman, W.; Lawrence, E.; Van Compernolle, B. (2012). "Three-dimensional reconnection involving magnetic flux ropes". The Astrophysical Journal. 753 (2): 131. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/753/2/131. ISSN 0004-637X.
8. ^ "APS Fellow Archive". American Physical Society. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
9. ^ Aldag, J. Matthew (March 25, 2002). "Unlocking Secrets of Plasma". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
10. "Troy Carter". www.physics.ucla.edu. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
11. Wertheim, Margaret (August 19, 2003). "Machines Explore Odd Behaviors of Ubiquitous Plasmas". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
12. Gekelman, Walter (2002). "LAPTAG—A Physics Outreach Program at UCLA". APS News. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
13. Gekelman, Walter; Pribyl, Patrick; Birge-Lee, Henry; Wise, Joe; Katz, Cami; Wolman, Ben; Baker, Bob; Marmie, Ken; Patankar, Vedang; Bridges, Gabriel; Buckley-Bonanno, Samuel (2016). "Drift waves and chaos in a LAPTAG plasma physics experiment". American Journal of Physics. 84 (2): 118–126. Bibcode:2016AmJPh..84..118G. doi:10.1119/1.4936460. ISSN 0002-9505.
14. 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". APS. 2010: C1.046. Bibcode:2010APS..APR.C1046E.
15. Layton, William; Gekelman, Walter; Pribyl, Patrick (1999). "LAPTAG High School Plasma Physics laboratory". APS. 41: GP1.10. Bibcode:1999APS..DPP.GP110L.
16. "LAPD". ABC Radio National. April 18, 2002. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
17. Bad Universe (Documentary), Phil Plait, Tony Stephens, Tony Mulhare, Morningstar Entertainment, 2010, retrieved January 19, 2024{{citation}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
18. "Walter Gekelman | UCLA Art | Sci Center + Lab". artsci.ucla.edu. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
19. "Plasma: The Most Abundant State of Matter | BIOTECH+ART: HONORS 177". biotechart.artscinow.org. Retrieved January 19, 2024.

• Living people
• Fellows of the American Physical Society
• Brooklyn College alumni
• Stevens Institute of Technology alumni
• American plasma physicists