Dr. Arefiev's thesis, "Theoretical Studies of the VASIMIR Plasma Propulsion Concept", was supervised by Dr. Boris Briezman (Institute for Fusion Studies), and, his faculty advisor, Dr. Roger Bengtson (Fusion Research Center and Department of Physics). He also worked with scientists at the Johnson Space Center (Houston) in the Advanced Space Propulsion Laboratory, directed by NASA astronaut Dr. Franklin R. Chang-Diaz.
The University of Texas at Austin also recognized Dr. Arefiev's original thesis work with two awards. The Department of Physics honored him for The Outstanding Dissertation in Physics 2002-2003, and the Office of Graduate Studies accorded him University Co-Operative Society Outstanding Dissertation Award Honorable Mention for Distinguished Scholarship.
The Marshall N. Rosenbluth Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Award, formerly the "Outstanding Doctoral Thesis in Plasma Physics Award", provides recognition to expceptional young scientists who have performed original thesis work of outstanding scientific quality and acheivement in the area of plasma physics (http://www.aps.org/praw/ramo/index.html ). This Award, established in 1985 as the Simon Ramo Award, was endowed in 1997 by Marshall Rosenbluth of General Atomics Incorporated. Dr. Rosenbluth was one of the world's most eminent theoretical plasma physicists, the founding director of the Institute for Fusion Studies, and a professor of physics at the University of Texas at Austin from 1980 to 1987.
Dr. Fitzpatrick first joined The University of Texas at Austin in January 1994 coming from UKAEA Culham Laboratory where he worked from 1987-1993.
In addition to the announcement reproduced below, obituary notices also appeared in the New York Times and on the University of California-San Diego web site http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/newsrel/science/mcrosenbluth.htm .
Marshall Rosenbluth, whose legendary scientific contributions to the world effort in fusion and plasma physics, began in the early 1950s, died September 28 in San Diego of pancreatic cancer. As a research scientist he authored and co-authored countless papers that provided much of the scientific basis of this evolving field. As a professor, he was mentor to a whole generation of plasma scientists. As a human being, few could match his honesty and wit, his genuine interest in people and his inquiring mind.
He received his doctorate in physics from the University of Chicago in 1949 at the age of only 22. In 1950, he was recruited by Edward Teller to join the staff of physicists at Los Alamos, seeking to understand the physics that would make possible the hydrogen bomb. In 1956, he joined some of the most brilliant plasma physicists of the era at General Atomics in San Diego, seeking to tame fusion for the production of electricity. He was a professor of physics at the University of California 1960-1967 and again from 1987 - 1993, when he became Emeritus. He was also a professor at the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study from 1967 - 1980 and at the University of Texas 1980 - 1987.
He was the recipient of many awards, including the Lawrence and Fermi Awards and the National Medal of Science, the Nation's highest scientific honor. Fusion Power Associates honored him with its Leadership Award in 1987 and its Distinguished Career Award in 1997.
Although he had been suffering from cancer for several years, he continued to attend scientific meetings and was actively providing advice to the fusion community until near the very end of his life. One cannot overstate the sense of loss that his death brings to fusion scientists around the world.
He came to The University of Texas in 1980, along with Dr. Marshall Rosenbluth, when the Institute for Fusion Studies was founded. From 1986 -1991 he served as the Assistant Director and Associate Director from 1992-2002. Since joining the Institute Dr. Van Dam has organized a number of workshops and international symposia, served on various national committees and taskforces, participated as a visiting scientist at several laboratories and as a visiting professor in Japan, and also as a journal co-editor.
Research Scientist Dr. Francois Waelbroeck is the Assistant Director of the institute. His research on magnetic reconnection and the effects of sheared flows on plasma stability is widely recongized as is The Framework of Plasma Physicsa textbook of which he is the co-author.