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Professor David Hammer
of Cornell University was awarded the 2004 Plasma Science and Applications
Award by the Chairman of the Plasma Science and Application Committee,
Dr. Thomas Hussey. The award ceremony took place during the 2004
IEEE International Conference on Plasma Science (ICOPS) in Baltimore,
MD on Wednesday, June 30, 2004 just prior to the plenary session
devoted to the awardee's address. Professor Hammer's address was
entitled "The X Pinch, a Remarkable X-ray Source and High-Energy-Density
Plasma." In his presentation he described how very dense, intensely
radiating plasmas, commonly called micropinches, consistently form
within about 100 mm of the cross point of two fine wires (typically
molybdenum or tungsten). It is at the cross point where the currents
delivered by a pulsed power generator to the individual wire plasmas
merge, thereby producing the short, intense burst of radiation.
Among the various applications of this source, Professor Hammer
highlighted its capabilities as a source for point-projection imaging.
Professor Hammer is the J. Carlton Ward Professor of Nuclear Energy
Engineering and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
at Cornell University. He has been on the Cornell faculty since
1977. Professor Hammer "discovered" plasma physics and
controlled fusion research in a summer job in 1964 at the Oak Ridge
National Laboratory immediately after he took his B.S. in Physics
from the California Institute of Technology. After a year studying
cosmic rays as a Fulbright Fellow at the University of Leeds, England,
he became a graduate student at Cornell University in 1965 and helped
build the first pulsed power machines there. Hammer completed his
Ph.D. thesis at Cornell in Applied Physics in 1969 on the theory
and practice of intense electron beam propagation in gases and plasmas.
For the next seven years, he worked at the Naval Research Laboratory,
where he carried out a variety of experiments on intense electron
beam propagation in different physical configurations. He was also
a Visiting Associate Professor (part time) at the University of
Maryland during 1973-1976. After a brief stint on the faculty at
UCLA, Professor Hammer returned to Cornell as a faculty member,
where he investigated intense ion beam technology and physics for
about 10 years before taking up the study of exploding wire Z-pinches
and X pinches. During the academic year 1983-84, the Spring of 1991
and the Spring of 2004, he was a Visiting Senior Fellow at Imperial
College, London, and he spent the first half of 1998 at Applied
Materials, Inc. To-date 17 students have completed their Ph.D. degrees
under his guidance.
Dr. Hammer participates in reviews of DoD and DOE research and development
programs as a member of JASON, and has been a member of review and
advisory panels for government agencies and national laboratories.
Most recently, he served as a member of the National Research Council
panel on High Energy Density Physics, and the Fusion Energy Sciences
Advisory Committee sub-panel on Inertial Fusion Energy. Dr. Hammer
is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and the American Association
for the Advancement of Science, in addition to being a Fellow of
the IEEE. He is the Chair of the Division of Plasma Physics of the
American Physical Society in 2004 and was the Program Chair for
the 45th Annual Meeting of the Division in Albuquerque, NM, in October
2003.
Dr. Hammer has authored or coauthored about 105 articles that have
appeared in refereed journals and about 50 that have been published
in conference proceedings. He is continuing his research interests
in high energy density plasmas produced from exploding wires driven
by pulsed power generators.
Citation: "For fundamental contributions to the understanding
of intense relativistic electron beam propagation, intense ion beam
generation and propagation, innovative plasma diagnostic development
for intense beam devices, X-ray source development using novel plasma
pinches, and for his commitment to the mentoring of graduate students
in the field of plasma science."
David Hammer can be reached at Cornell University, Department of
Electrical and Computer Engineering, 327 Rhodes Hall, Ithaca, New
York, 14853; Phone: +1 607-255-3916; Fax: +1 607-255-9072; E-mail:
dah5@cornell.edu.
James L.
Ramsey
2004 NSREC Radiation Effects Award Recipient
The 2004 Radiation Effects Award
was presented to Jim Ramsey, consultant, during the opening ceremonies
of the conference. Ron Schrimpf, Chairman of the Radiation Effects
Steering Group (RESG), made the presentation. The purpose of the
award is to recognize those individuals who have had a sustained
history of outstanding and innovative technical contributions and/or
leadership contributions to the Radiation Effects Community. Jim
received this year's award with a citation "for contributions
to the dissemination and advancement of radiation effects research
by his leadership in all aspects of the IEEE Nuclear and Space Radiation
Effects Conference and the Radiation Effects Steering Group."
Jim served in the U.S. Navy from 1953-1957 and received a BS in
Physics from Indiana University in 1962. He worked at the Naval
Ammunition Depot, Crane, Indiana (now NAVSEA, Crane Division) from
1962-1989 and has worked as a consultant since 1989. While at Crane,
Jim managed the radiation effects group that was responsible for
radiation effects testing of microelectronics for the Navy Polaris/Poseidon/Trident
missile systems. Under Jim's leadership the group grew to become
one of the largest radiation effects test groups in the U.S. Jim
also served as a Principal Area Reviewer for the Defense Nuclear
Agency (now the Defense Threat Reduction Agency) Bipolar Technology
Development Program. He was also instrumental in founding the Hardened
Electronics and Radiation Technology (HEART) Conference.
Jim has been very active in the IEEE/NPSS radiation effects community
over the years. In 1980 he was elected to a two-year term on the
RESG as a member-at-large. In 1982 he was the NSREC Conference Chairman,
taking the conference to Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas, the first time
that the NSREC was not held at a university site. In 1983 Jim was
elected as Vice-Chairman of the RESG, a three-year term. He then
served a three-year term as RESG Chairman and another three-year
term as Past Chairman.
It is most fitting that Jim received this award, as he was instrumental
in establishing the Radiation Effects Award while he served as Chairman
of the RESG.
Jim Ramsey can be reached at RR2, Box 129, Odon, IN 47562-9694.
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