Obituary: Emeritus Professor Malcolm Haines
It is with great sadness that we report the death of Malcolm Haines, a long standing member of the Plasma Physics Group at Imperial College.
Malcolm was born in Belfast and grew up in Wales. He first came to Imperial College in 1953 and was at Imperial all his life, gaining a BSc in 1957 and PhD in 1960. Immediately thereafter he was appointed a lecturer by Pat Blackett, the then Head of Department. Malcolm was made Professor in 1975 and Dean of the Royal College of Science in 1999. He retired in 2002, but remained deeply engaged with Imperial College and the Plasma Physics group as an Emeritus Professor and Senior Research Investigator.
Malcolm pursued a distinguished and world renowned career in plasma physics, making significant contributions to both magnetic and inertial fusion. His PhD work was on the theory of z-pinches, an interest that continued throughout his career. Out of this work came the Polytron, a plasma confinement device based on Hall acceleration in cusp magnetic fields, and later the Magpie experiment based at Imperial. This work is continuing in the Group to this day. Plasma rotation in magnetic fields was another topic that he worked on throughout his life, first on rotation in theta pinches and later in tokamaks. A new paper of his, on spontaneous toroidal rotation in tokamaks, is currently with referees. He published over 250 papers in all areas of plasma physics, including fundamentals such as kinetic theory, transport and stability. Malcolm is also a co-author on many experimental papers, which is a distinguishing mark of his broad and enduring contribution. The work on magnetic field generation in laser plasma interactions, absorption of intense lasers, electro-thermal instabilities are a few examples. Physics was an essential part of his life and sustained him during his long illness.
He was elected Fellow of the Institute of Physics and Fellow of the American Physical Society. His contribution to plasma physics was recognised by the award of the Alfvén Prize of the European Physical Society. Under Malcolm's leadership the Plasma Physics Group pioneered the use of pulsed power devices in plasmas out of which emerged the large scale work at Sandia Laboratory in the US. Malcolm was closely involved in making the case for the establishment of the Laser Division at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, now one of the world’s premier laser facilities. He was a consultant to the Culham Laboratory since the early sixties. For the last twenty years he was a consultant to Livermore National Laboratories, Sandia National Laboratory and the Laboratory of Laser Energetics at the University of Rochester.
Malcolm became the head of the Plasma Physics Group in 1975. The Group had been established just before Malcolm's arrival at Imperial. It has produced over 300 PhDs, a number of whom are leading plasma physicists throughout the world. Malcolm was also an accomplished organist and pianist and enjoyed playing the harpsichord. He was a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists and was famous for organ recitals at plasma conferences he attended and he played a significant part in the musical life at Imperial.
The view that Malcolm Haines, over 50 years, made a greater contribution to Plasma Physics than anyone else in the U.K. would be heartily endorsed in the United States. His good humour, charm, insight and enthusiasm will be deeply missed.
(Obituary written by Bucker Dangor, Steven Rose, Jerry Chittenden, Roland Smith and Linda Jones. Imperial College, London, January 2013).
2012 HEDSA presentations now available.
Talks from the 2012 General Meeting High Energy Density Science Association (HEDSA) and 2012 HEDSA Symposium on High Energy Density Laboratory Plasmas are now available to view. See links in the announcements below.
University of Rochester Research Experience for Undergraduates program in Physics, Astronomy, and Optics
Synopsis: The Physics and Astronomy Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Program is funded by the National Science Foundation to support twelve highly-qualified students to undertake supervised research projects in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, for a period of 10 weeks each summer. Departmental faculty conduct research in diverse experimental and theoretical areas, including Astronomy & Astrophysics, Biological Physics, Condensed Matter Physics, High Energy Physics, Nuclear Physics, Plasma and Laser Physics, Quantum Optics, and Physics Education.
E-mail: connie@pas.rochester.edu
Web Site: http://www.pas.rochester.edu/urpas/page/specialreu
Program URL: http://www.pas.rochester.edu/urpas/page/reu_application_details
Deadline: 02/15/2013
2013 High-Energy-Density-Physics Summer School to be held at The Ohio State University.
Lectures will be given on topics in HEDP and Inertial Confinement Fusion, including radiation transport and spectroscopy, hydrodynamics, laser–plasma interactions, and experiment diagnostics. For more information, see this pdf and visit the University of Rochester HEDPSS page.
Prof. Roberto Mancini to webcast plasma spectroscopy course Spring 2013
The course will include theory, modeling and data analysis in plasma spectroscopy with emphasis on high-energy-density plasma applications. For more information, download this pdf.
2012 General Meeting High Energy Density Science Association (HEDSA)
Room 554AB, Rhode Island Convention Center
Wednesday, October 31,2012 (12:30-2:00 PM)
Agenda:
12:30–12:40PM Chikang Li, HEDSA Steering Committee
12:40–1:00PM Steve Gitomer, Plasma Physics Division, National Science Foundation
1:00–1:20PM Ann Satsangi and Sean Finnegan, Office of Fusion Energy Sciences, Department of Energy
1:20–1:40PM Kirk Levedahl, National Nuclear Security Administration, Department of Energy
1:40–2:00PM General Discussion
2012 HEDSA Symposium on High Energy Density Laboratory Plasmas Rhode Island Convention Center, Room 554AB, Providence, Rhode Island, 7:30 PM, Sunday, October 28th, 2012
A Symposium on High Energy Density Plasma Physics consisting of four invited talks on topics of current interest in high energy density laboratory plasmas will be held at Rhode Island Convention Center Room 554AB (connected to The Westin Providence, the HQ Hotel), Providence, Rhode Island on Sunday evening, October 28th, 2012 starting at 7:30 PM. The symposium is one of a series organized every year at the APS Division of Plasma Physics annual meeting by the High Energy Density Science Association. The program includes the following presentations:
7:30 PM "Large-scale molecular dynamics simulations of charged particle stopping in strongly coupled plasmas: definitive tests of plasma kinetic theories", Michael Murillo, Los Alamos National Laboratory.
8:00 PM "X-ray Thomson Scattering: Incisive probe for warm dense matter", Sean Regan, Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester.
8:30 PM "Self-organized bursts of coherent stimulated Raman scattering in speckled laser plasma media", Lin Yin, Los Alamos National Laboratory.
9:00 PM "Richtmyer-Meshkov jet formation and areal mass oscillations triggered by HED shock waves", Alexander "Sasha" Velikovich, Naval Research Laboratory.
2011 General Meeting High Energy Density Science Association (HEDSA)
Ballroom J, Salt Lake City Convention Center, Salt Lake City
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
(Noon-1:30 PM)*
Agenda:
12:00 – 12:10 Welcome and Chair’s Report
Roberto Mancini - Chair of the Steering Committee
12:10 – 12:30 Steve Gitomer, Plasma Physics, Physics Division, National Science Foundation
12:30 – 12:50 Ann Satsangi and Sean Finnegan, Office of Fusion Energy Sciences, Department of Energy
12:50 – 1:10 Ralph Schneider, National Nuclear Security Administration, Department of Energy
1:10 – 1:20 Bedros Afeyan, High Energy Density Science Users Project (HEDSUP)
1:20 – 1:30 General Discussion
Agenda available as a PDF by clicking here
2011 HEDSA Symposium on High Energy Density Laboratory Plasmas
Salt Lake City, Utah
November 13th, 2011
A Symposium on High Energy Density Plasma Physics consisting of five invited talks on topics of current interest in high energy density laboratory plasmas will be held at Deer Valley I-III in the Mariott Hotel inn downtown Salt Lake City, Utah on Sunday evening, November 13th , starting at 7:30 PM. The symposium is one of a series organized every year at the APS Division of Plasma Physics annual meeting by the High Energy Density Science Association (HEDSA) www.hedsa.org.
The program included the following presentations:
7:30 PM "Plasma Nuclear Physics: Opportunities for Nuclear Physics in HED plasmas", Dennis McNabb, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
8:00 PM "Particle Acceleration Using the 300TW Hercules Laser Facility: Physics and Applications", Karl Krushelnick, University of Michigan.
8:30 PM "Experiments Investigating Astrophysical Plasma Properties at the Z Facility", Jim Bailey, Sandia National Laboratories.
9:00 PM "The Creation and Diagnosis of Warm Dense Matter with X-Ray Free Electron Lasers", Justin Wark, Oxford University, UK.
9:30 PM "Recent achievements in the Study of X-Pinch Physics", Sergei Pikuz, Cornell University.
3rd High Energy Density Science Association (HEDSA) symposium on High Energy Density Physics will be held on November 7 (Sunday), 2010 from 7:30-11:00 PM in room Columbus GH in Hyatt Regency Chicago (DPP meeting site). The invited speakers include:
Dr. Don Cook, Deputy Administrator, National Nuclear Security Administration "Comments on the NNSA perspective of the future of HEDLP"
Professor Adam Frank, University of Rochester "The Perfect Storm: Jets and Heterogeneous Flows in Laboratory Astrophysics"
Dr. Mark Herrmann, Sandia National Laboratory, Albuquerque "Using Magnetic Fields to Create and Control High Energy Density Matter"
Professor Todd Ditmire, University of Austin, Texas "High Field Science with Petawatt to Exawatt Lasers"
Dr. Manuel Hegelich, Los Alamos National Laboratory "Ultra-intense laser-matter interactions at extreme parameters: tackling the Extreme Field Frontier"
Dr. Tammy Ma, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory "Effects of Preplasma on Hot Electron Coupling and Propagation in Cone-Guided Fast Ignition"
HEDSA Symposium on High Energy Density Laboratory Plasmas
Atlanta, Georgia
November 1st, 2009
A Symposium on High Energy Density Plasma Physics consisting of six invited talks on topics of current interest in high energy density plasmas will be held at the Hannover F room in the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Atlanta Sunday night, November 1 st , starting at 7:30 PM. The symposium is one of a series organized every year at the APS DPP annual meeting by the High Energy Density Science Association (HEDSA)
The program included the following presentations:
7:30 PM. "Magnetically driven supersonic plasma jets in high energy density experiments", Sergey Lebedev, Imperial College, London
8:00 PM. "High intensity slow wave structures for relativistic particle acceleration" Howard Milchberg, University of Maryland, College Park, MD
8:30 PM "Current Experiments at the National Ignition Facility and Future Possibilities", John Kline, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM
9:00 PM "STUD Pulses and KEEN Waves: Two Novel Ways to Control Laser-Plasma Instabilities in HEDP", Bedros Afeyan, Polymath Research Inc, Pleasanton, CA
9:30 PM: "Multicolor tomography of high-energy density plasmas", Roberto Mancini, University of Nevada, Reno, NV
10:00 PM. "Magnetic Fields in High Energy Plasmas", James Knauer, Laboratory of Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY
More information about the DPP meeting can be found here: http://www.aps.org/meetings/unit/dpp/index.cfm
4th Annual General Meeting High Energy Density Science Association (HEDSA)
Inman Room, Hyatt Regency, Atlanta
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
(Noon-2:00 PM)*
Agenda:
12:00 – 12:10 Welcome and Chair’s Report
Prof. Jorge Rocca - Chair of the Steering Committee
12:10 – 12:30 National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Perspective on the Joint NNSA/OFES High Energy Density Laboratory Plasmas (HEDLP) Program
Dr. Chris Deeney – Director of the Office of Defense
Science, NNSA, Department of Energy (DOE)
12:30 – 12:50 Office of Fusion Energy Science (OFES) Perspective on the Joint NNSA/OFES HEDLP Program
Dr. Ed Synokowski – Director of OFES, DOE
12:50 – 1:00 National Science Foundation – Department of Energy Partnership Perspective on HEDLP Research
Dr. Michael Crisp – Program Manager, OFES, DOE
1:00 – 1:10 Status Report on the HEDLP Research Needs Workshop
Professor Dave Hammer – Co-Chair, Research Needs
Workshop (ReNeW) on HEDLP
1:10 – 1:25 High Energy Density Science User’s Project (HEDSUP) Report
Dr. Bedros Afeyan – Chair, HEDSUP
1:25 – 1:35 HEDSA Student Committee Report
Mike Purvis – Chair, HEDSA Student Committee
1:35 – 2:00 General Discussion
* Lunch boxes will be available in the Hyatt Regency Hotel Cafeteria for purchase.
2009 HEDP Summer School
HEDSA Symposium on High Energy Density Laboratory Plasmas
November, 2008
The program included the following presentations:
7:00 PM Laser wakefield accelerator plasma physics and development Cameron G.R. Geddes, LBNL, Berkeley, CA
7:35 PM Visualization of luminal-velocity plasma structures Mike Downer, University of Texas at Austin
8:10 PM Extreme nonlinear optics and applications in HEDLP Margaret M. Murnane, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO
8:45 PM HEDLP physics challenges in advanced IFE concepts: shock ignition Riccardo Betti University of Rochester, Rochester, NY
9:20 PM Relativistic collisionless shocks: from astrophysics to fast ignition L. O. Silva GoLP, Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon, Portugal
9:55 PM Kinetic modeling using supercomputers: A critical element for the success of HEDLP Brian J. Albright LANL, Los Alamos, NM
HEDLP talk to the Plasma Committee of the NRC, October 10 -11, 2008 titled, "High Energy Density Laboratory Plasmas: Exciting prospects for new physics and technology", given by Bedros Afeyan.
