| Professor
Yitzhak Maron of the Weizmann Institute of Science (Rehovot, Israel)
has been selected as the recipient of the 2007 Plasma Science and
Applications Award for “pioneering the application of spectroscopic
techniques to the detailed space and time characterization of electric
and magnetic fields, charged-particle beams, and plasmas under extreme
conditions of high-current, high-voltage, high-fields, and short-duration.”
The award presentation will take place at the IEEE International
Pulsed Power and Plasma Science Conference (PPPS 2007) in Albuquerque,
New Mexico, 17-22 June 2007.
Yitzhak Maron was born on April 12, 1948 in Iraq. With his family,
he emigrated to Israel in 1951. In 1968, he graduated with a B.Sc.
in Physics and Mathematics from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem
and went on to complete his M.Sc. studies there in 1970. From 1971-1977,
he conducted his Ph.D. research at the Weizmann Institute of Science,
where he spent an additional three years as a postdoctoral fellow.
In 1980, he joined the Laboratory of Plasma Studies at Cornell University
(Ithaca, New York) where he worked as a Research Associate. He returned
to the Weizmann Institute in 1985 to become a Professor of Physics
and is currently the Head of the Plasma Laboratory in the Faculty
of Physics.
Professor Maron is a world leader in the development of spectroscopic
methods to determine the charge and current density distributions
as well as electric and magnetic fields in non-equilibrium short-duration
plasmas. His pioneering experimental techniques have made it possible
to measure, understand, and control the extreme plasma environments
of high-power ion diodes, plasma opening switches (POS), and Z-pinches.
His many “firsts” include the use of Stark shift measurements
to determine the dynamic electric field distribution in the high-voltage
gaps in ion diodes, making it possible to measure the electron density
distribution in magnetically insulated diode gaps; the use of Doppler
line shapes to determine the ion beam divergence in acceleration
gaps; the determination of the electron temperature and particle
flow in dynamic ionizing plasmas; the use of Zeeman-splitting measurements
in pulsed-plasmas to determine the evolution of the spatial distribution
of magnetic fields in diodes, Z-pinches, and POS; and the determination
of the properties of turbulent fields in diodes and POS plasmas.
Professor Maron’s body of work has greatly advanced the understanding
of pulsed-plasmas and atomic physics under extreme conditions.
In addition to his outstanding scientific achievements, he has also
helped to train new generations of researchers through his teaching
activities and his collaborations with universities and institutions
throughout the world. In recognition of his many talents and accomplishments,
Professor Maron was made a Fellow of the American Physical Society
in 1996 and a Fellow of the IEEE in 2005.
Yitzhak Maron can be reached at the Weizmann Institute of Science,
Rehovot, 76100 Israel; E-mail: Yitzhak.Maron@weizmann.ac.il
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