Robert L. Hickok, Jr., pioneer in the development of particle beam diagnostics for magnetically confined plasmas, died April 15, 2009. He was 80.
Bob was born in Schenectady, NY in 1929. He received his B.S. degree in 1951 from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, his M.A. degree from Dartmouth in 1953 and his Ph.D. in 1957 also from RPI. All of his degrees were in Physics. From 1957–1959 he was a postdoctoral fellow at Yale, after which he worked at Mobil Research Labs where he began experiments with heavy ion beam probes (HIBP) as a plasma diagnostic tool. In 1971 he returned to Rensselaer as a professor of electrical engineering, a position he held until his retirement in 1991. From 1991–1997 he continued his work as an active professor emeritus, completing over 35 years of association with his alma mater. For his contributions to plasma diagnostics, he was made a Fellow of the IEEE in 1980 and a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 1984.
The history of HIBP research, begun by Bob with his colleague Buzz Jobes, while they were at Mobil, is a remarkable story that all research physicists and engineers should know as a case study on how to create and maintain a challenging and fun experimental research program with an exceptionally long lifetime. Bob provided the highlights of this history in the August, 1994 Special Issue of the IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science, that was dedicated to him and the work of others he inspired to realize the potential of the HIBP. [R. L. Hickok, “A short history of heavy ion beam probing,” IEEE Trans. on Plasma Science, vol. 22, p. 287, 1994] As he describes there, he was charged by Mobil to begin a small program relevant to nuclear fusion research. He combined his background and interests in particle beams with a need he perceived for better plasma diagnostics, eventually working out the basic concepts behind the HIBP. His Physical Review Letter2 (all references are from Bob’s History) with Jobes and Marshall in 1969 was received so well that it was selected by the American Institute of Physics for inclusion in their yearly compilation of significant developments in physics and received extensive publicity. The key papers of the Mobil years1, 2, 3, 4, 5
show the solid early development done by him and Buzz (who were a great team) and its application on the ST tokamak at Princeton.
Fortunately for RPI and those of us with the good fortune to work and study there, Mobil got out of the fusion business, which led Bob to RPI and Buzz to Princeton. With the help of Bill Jennings and Ken Connor, Bob redirected the research of the Rensselaer Plasma Dynamics Lab (RPDL) to HIBP work6,7, motivated by support from the AEC. The contract obtained in 1972 became the start of an amazing record of support for particle-beam-based diagnostics. While the AEC transitioned to ERDA and then the DOE, the support for this remarkable diagnostic has continued to this day. Besides recognizing the impact the HIBP could have on magnetic confinement fusion research, Bob’s big idea was to develop basic ideas at RPI10,11,18 and then engage the RPDL group in large research groups at other institutions who were operating experimental confinement devices that could benefit from HIBP measurements. This began with the LITE8 mirror device at United Technologies; then moved to Oak Ridge to address EBT9, ISX-B13,14 and finally ATF19; to Livermore for TMX12; to Texas for TEXT and TEXT-Upgrade15,16,17; and now Wisconsin for MST. 
Over 35 years of continuous funding could not have happened if Bob had not also demonstrated an exceptional talent as a mentor. Bill Jennings was the first young colleague at RPI to be guided by Bob, followed by Ken Connor and Tom Crowley. When Bob retired in 1991, HIBP work was carried on by Ken, Tom and Paul Schoch, who was Bob’s student. Now the MST HIBP is directed by Diane Demers and Paul. Other notables in plasma science got their start as research staff under Bob, including Pat Colestock and Spencer Kuo. He also helped establish an exceptional learning environment that has provided a very special experience for the many students who have done their graduate and undergraduate work in the RPDL. Strong working relationships were also established with groups in other countries, especially the HIBP group led by Ludmilla Krupnik in Ukraine and the bumpy torus, stellarator and tokamak groups at Nagoya University and then NIFS in Japan. If Hickok is the father of the HIBP then Krupnik is its mother. The story of her group also is worth knowing.
Bob’s impact on HIBP work in Japan is described in a remembrance from Harukazu Iguchi: ‘The first theme of my research career was to develop an HIBP for a bumpy torus project. Professor Ikegami, who was participating in the EBT Project at Oak Ridge, had started NBT at Nagoya University. He thought the HIBP was essential since one of the most important physics issues was the effect of radial electric fields on toroidal plasma confinement. In March 1980, Professor Ikegami invited Prof. Connor to Nagoya. Although it was a short stay, it was the first step of our collaboration, which soon brought Dr. Bieniosek to Nagoya as a post-doctoral fellow. I visited RPI in the beginning of this winter and met Professor Hickok for the first time. The famous professor and HIBP pioneer welcomed a newcomer. He gave me various instructions and materials necessary for HIBP development. In the weekend, he drove his car at 90 miles per hour and took me to Lake George in the north of Troy, NY. I felt that I became one of his graduate students. When I presented our potential measurement in the US/Japan workshop the next year, Professor Hickok admired our quick success. However, our success in this initial phase strongly relied on RPI contributions. The success promoted further collaboration between RPI and our institute. I express my deep gratitude to Professor Hickok.’
The final word from Buzz Jobes: ‘Bob Hickok was my mentor for nine years during which I grew into a physicist who could create good physics experiments. I believe I was his first protégé. I know that subsequently he was mentor to many younger physicists, creating a whole army of beam probers. I shall keep the memories, but be sad at his passing.’ Additional information on Bob’s career and his impact on others can be found at http://hibp.ecse.rpi.edu/~connor/RLH/.
Bob is survived by his wife, Rose Marie Hickok of Potomac, MD; children, Robert L. Hickok, III and his wife Elizabeth Azari of Mullica Hill, NJ, Susan Hickok and her husband Spence Hilton of Millburn, NJ, and Sandra Spalletta of Rockville, MD; grandchildren, Douglas and Rebecca Hilton of Millburn, NJ, and Gavin and Jonathan Spalletta of Rockville, MD; and siblings, Jennie Hickok, Gladys Blanchard and her husband Earl Blanchard, and Rachel Phillips, all of Schenectady, NY.
This article was prepared by Ken Connor, who can be reached at connor@rpi.edu. He was assisted by Buzz Jobes, Harukazu Iguchi and Bill Jennings.
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