Paul M. Bellan
 | A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject. (March 2025) |
Paul M. Bellan | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Alma mater | |
| Known for | spheromak, plasma jets, magnetic reconnection |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Plasma Physics |
| Institutions | California Institute of Technology |
| Doctoral advisor | Miklos Porkolab |
Paul Murray Bellan is a Canadian-American physicist. He is a professor of Applied Physics at Caltech, working in experimental plasma physics, magnetohydrodynamics, and laboratory astrophysics. He is the author of the textbook Fundamentals of Plasma Physics.[1]
Early life and education
[edit]Paul Bellan grew up in Winnipeg, Canada. Paul pursued his undergraduate studies at the University of Manitoba, where his father, Ruben C. Bellan, was a professor of economics.[2] Bellan earned a Bachelor of Science with honors in 1970,[3] and went on to pursue his graduate studies in plasma physics at Princeton University, where he met his wife, Josette Bellan. He earned his Master of Arts in 1972 and his Ph.D. in 1976. His doctoral research, under the guidance of Miklos Porkolab, focused on the generation and behavior of lower hybrid waves generated by periodic antennae.[4][irrelevant citation]
Career
[edit]Prof. Bellan has served as faculty of the department of Applied Physics and Materials Science at Caltech since 1977, initially working closely with physicist Roy W. Gould.[3] He has mentored over 30 graduate students.[5] He teaches an introductory course on plasma physics, from which he authored the textbook Fundamentals of Plasma Physics.[6]
Bellan’s research focuses on plasma physics through laboratory experiments, analytical models, and numerical simulations. He has contributedto plasma self-organization through Taylor state relaxation, especially in Spheromak formation, pioneering experimental work on using Spheromak injection for Tokamak ramp-up. He has authored two graduate-level books on Spheromaks and Magnetic helicity.[7][8] He is also involved in plasma laboratory astrophysics, performing experiments that model phenomena such as astrophysical jets,[9] generation of nanoflares by Solar Coronal Loops,[10] and dusty plasma phenomena in mesospheric clouds, protoplanetary disks and the weakly-ionized interstellar medium.[11][12]
Bellan was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS) in 1991, and was awarded the Writing Award from the American Astronomical Society in 2001 for his article on solar prominences.[13]
References
[edit]- ^ Bellan, Paul Murray (2006). Fundamentals of plasma physics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-82116-2.
- ^ "Memorable Manitobans: Ruben C. Bellan (1918-2005)". mhs.mb.ca. Manitoba Historical Society.
- ^ a b Zierler, David (12 July 2022). "Paul M. Bellan, Plasma Physicist". Heritage Project. California Institute of Technology. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
- ^ Bellan, P. M.; Porkolab, M. (1974-08-01). "Propagation and mode conversion of lower-hybrid waves generated by a finite source". The Physics of Fluids. 17 (8): 1592–1601. Bibcode:1974PhFl...17.1592B. doi:10.1063/1.1694938. ISSN 0031-9171.
- ^ "Bellan Plasma Group at Caltech". bellanplasmagroup.caltech.edu. Retrieved 2025-07-02.
- ^ Montgomery, David C. (2007-01-01). "Paul M. Bellan (2006) Fundamentals of plasma physics". Theoretical and Computational Fluid Dynamics. 21 (1): 79–80. doi:10.1007/s00162-006-0038-6. ISSN 1432-2250.
- ^ Bellan, Paul Murray (2000). Spheromaks: a practical application of magnetohydrodynamic dynamos and plasma self-organization. World Scientific (Firm). London: Imperial College Press. ISBN 978-1-86094-141-2.
- ^ Bellan, Paul Murray (2018). Magnetic helicity, spheromaks, solar Corona loops, and astrophysical jets. New Jersey London Singapore [und 6 weitere]: World Scientific. ISBN 978-1-78634-516-5.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) - ^ "Redefining Physics: Plasma Jets With Unexpected X-Ray Emissions". SciTechDaily. 22 December 2023. solar prominences,
- ^ "Laboratory Solar Flares Reveal Clues to Mechanism Behind Bursts of High-Energy Particles". California Institute of Technology. 6 April 2023.
- ^ Bellan, P. M. (2008). "Ice iron/sodium film as cause for high noctilucent cloud radar reflectivity". Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres. 113 (D16). Bibcode:2008JGRD..11316215B. doi:10.1029/2008JD009927. ISSN 2156-2202.
- ^ Nicolov, André; Gudipati, Murthy S.; Bellan, Paul M. (2024-05-01). "Phase and Morphology of Water-ice Grains Formed in a Cryogenic Laboratory Plasma". The Astrophysical Journal. 966 (1): 66. arXiv:2404.16396. Bibcode:2024ApJ...966...66N. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad34b5. ISSN 0004-637X.
- ^ "Physicists Honored by APS". Physics Today. 54 (12): 68–69. 1 December 2001. Bibcode:2001PhT....54S..68.. doi:10.1063/1.1445559. ISSN 0031-9228.