Governance

About Division of Plasma Physics

The American Physical Society Division of Plasma Physics was established in 1959. The first elected Chair was Melvin B. Gottlieb, Princeton University. Each year the James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics (est. 1975) is presented at the Annual Meeting, along with the John Dawson Award for Excellence in Plasma Physics Research (est. 1981 as the Award for Excellence in Plasma Physics Research), the Thomas H. Stix Award for Outstanding Early Career Contributions to Plasma Physics Research (est. 2013), and the Marshall N. Rosenbluth Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Award (est. 1985 as the Simon Ramo Award). The Katherine E. Weimer Award (a DPP award, est. 2001) was presented every three years, since 2019 it will be presented every two years. The Landau-Spitzer Award (est. 2010 and supported by APS and EPS) is presented every two years beginning in 2012 with specific regulations benefiting EU and USA. The Nicholson Medal for Outreach, established in 1994 by DPP and the Forum on Physics and Society as the Nicholson Medal for Humanitarian Service, is presented annually at an APS meeting.

DPP is comprised of an international pool of members with representation from a diverse community at all stages of academic and professional careers. The Regular Division membership fee is only $10 per year for APS members. Graduate students can join both DPP and the APS at no cost during their first year of membership. Some benefits and opportunities of DPP membership include:

  1. Receive professional development through all phases of one’s career.
  2. Receive DPP E-News containing information on plasma physics opportunities, news, and events, including updates about upcoming meeting activities.
  3. Vote in DPP elections
  4. Serve the DPP and the Society through elective offices and appointed committees of the Division.
  5. Take advantage of networking opportunities as an APS DPP member.
  6. Be considered for nomination to APS Fellowship.
  7. Access the DPP Community containing DPP-related discussions and downloadable material.

    Join APS

    Division of Plasma Physics Chairs

    2023

    Karl Krushelnick

    University of Michigan

    2022

    Denise Hinkel

    Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

    2021

    Michael Brown

    Swarthmore College

    2020

    Ellen Zweibel

    University of Wisconsin

    2019

    David Newman

    University of Alaska

    2018

    John Cary

    University of Colorado

    2017

    Earl Scime

    West Virginia University

    2016

    David Meyerhofer

    Los Alamos National Laboratory

    2015

    Riccardo Betti

    University of Rochester

    2014

    Mark Koepke

    West Virginia University

    2013

    Frederick Skiff

    University of Iowa

    2012

    Cary Forest

    University of Wisconsin

    2011

    Steven Allen

    General Atomics

    2010

    Thomas Antonsen

    University of Maryland

    2009

    Amativa Bhattacharjee

    University of New Hampshire

    2008

    Ian Hutchinson

    Massachusetts Institute of Technology

    2007

    Vincent Chan

    General Atomics

    2006

    Melissa Douglas

    Los Alamos National Laboratory

    2005

    Jill Dahlberg

    Naval Research Laboratory

    2004

    David Hammer

    Cornell University

    2003

    Michael Mauel

    Columbia University

    2002

    Martin Lampe

    Naval Research Laboratory

    2001

    Allen Boozer

    Columbia University

    2000

    James Drake

    University of Maryland

    1999

    Miklos Porkolab

    Massachusetts Institute of Technology

    1998

    Nathaniel Fisch

    Princeton University

    1997

    Richard Hazeltine

    University of Texas

    1996

    Stewart Prager

    University of Wisconsin

    1995

    Barrett Ripin

    Naval Research Laboratory

    1994

    William Kruer

    Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

    1993

    Chuan-Sheng Liu

    University of Maryland

    1992

    Abraham Bers

    Massachusetts Institute of Technology

    1991

    Noah Hershkowitz   

    University of Wisconsin

    1990

    Akira Hasegawa

    Bell Laboratories

    1989

    Charles Kennel

    University of California, Los Angeles

    1988

    Ronald Parker

    Massachusetts Institute of Technology

    1987

    David E. Baldwin

    Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

    1986

    James D. Callen

    University of Wisconsin

    1985

    Harry Dreicer

    Los Alamos National Laboratory

    1984

    Ronald Davidson

    Massachusetts Institute of Technology

    1983

    Francis Chen

    University of California, Los Angeles

    1982 

    Allan N. Kaufman

    University of California, Berkeley

    1981 

    Nicholas A. Krall

    Science Applications Incorporated

    1980

    Francis “Rip” Perkins

    Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory

    1979

    Burton Fried

    University of California, Los Angeles

    1978

    George Bekefi

    Massachusetts Institute of Technology

    1977

    Harold Eubank

    Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory

    1976

    Fred Ribe

    Los Alamos National Laboratory

    1975

    Alvin Trivelpiece

    Oak Ridge National Laboratory

    1974

    Roy Gould

    California Institute of Technology

    1973

    Norman Rostoker

    University of California, Irvine

    1972

    Donald Kerst

    University of Wisconsin

    1971

    John Dawson

    University of California, Los Angeles

    1970

    T. Ken Fowler

    University of California, Berkeley

    1969

    Harold Grad

    New York University

    1968

    Solomon Buchsbaum

    Bell Laboratories

    1967

    J Phillips

     

    1966

    Peter Sturrock

    Stanford University

    1965

    David Rose

     

    1964

    Albert Simon

    University of Rochester

    1963

    Thomas Stix

    Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory

    1962

    Richard Post

    Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

    1961

    Marshall Rosenbluth

    Princeton University

    1960

    Melvin Gottlieb

    Princeton University