Employment

Skills and Interests

Plasma Physics Interests/Specialties: Experimental propagation of electromagnetic shear Alfvén waves into nonuniform plasmas , and theoretical analysis of such systems with the use of plasma kinetic theory to model ion-cyclotron damping and electron energiziation via electron Landau damping; resistive drift wave experiments in field-aligned density depletions with quasi-periodic density gradient relaxation via wave-induced cross-field transport; production of high-density plasmas within an ambient magnetoplasma using solid target irradiation by short-pulse lasers, and the subsequent fully self-consistent generation of Alfvén waves, electromagnetic and quasi-electrostatic whistler waves, electron beams and magnetic reconnection.

Data analysis: Expert in the analysis of multi-gigabyte spatio-temporal datasets including advanced correlation, digital filter, wavelet, and spectral analysis techniques. Primary emphasis on modeling complex datasets by reducing the problem at hand to its fundamental principles.

Computers/programming:  Expertise in Fortran, C,  IDL/PV~Wave, and LabView programming languages as well as Unix shell scripting; data acquisition programming; numerical solutions of differential equations, numerical integration, evaluation of esoteric functions; extensive Unix system administration (Linux, Mac OS X, Sun/Solaris, SGI/Irix, Compaq/True64, PC/Windows) and network management skills. I manage a heterogeneous network of over 30 computers and dozens of ethernet-capable oscilloscopes and control systems. Extensive knowledge of applying advanced visualization techniques to make sense of complex datasets, including the use of high-end 3D graphics packages such as Maya.

Plasma sources: Ten-plus years experience in the construction and operation of high-current, pulsed barium-oxide-coated and lanthanam-hexaboride cathode plasma sources, as well as solid familiarity with inductively coupled RF plasma sources.

Plasma diagnostics: Mastery of design and construction of numerous plasma diagnostics and associated electronics including swept Langmuir, probes, Mach, triple, and particle flux probes, electric dipoles, ion-energy analyzers, differential magnetic induction coils; RF wave launching and RF shielding; 3D computer-controlled probe motion.

Vacuum technologies: Expert in constructing and operating high-vacuum systems; mechanical, turbopump, and cryogenic systems; vacuum interlocks; ion gauges and residual gas analyzers; differentially pumped vacuum feedthroughs.

Laser experience: Ring dye laser alignment and operation for laser-induced fluorescence with visible/UV ion pump laser; fiber delivery and detection optics. Pulsed YAG laser and pulsed dye laser operation.

Machining skills: Familiarity with milling machine, lathe, and computer-aided design tools.

Publications

Link to partial list of publications (full list in progress)

Invited Presentations

link to list

Synergistic Activities:
Co-chair and founder of UCLA’s Young Plasma Scientist Seminar Series.  This program has hosted 48 seminars to date. It gathers graduate students, post-docs, and junior faculty members from three departments (physics, engineering, and atmospheric sciences) to share their research, provide peer feedback and guidance for students, and promote collaborations.

I currently serve as the scientific liaison between UCLA’s Basic Plasma Science Facility and visiting researchers from the University of Iowa, UC San Diego, UC Irvine, Princeton, and others.

I am working in collaboration with the Principal Investigator of  NASA’s Solar System Visualization (SSV) Project at JPL to develop new visualization techniques capable of handling extremely complex three-dimensional datasets.

Hobbies

Surfing

Neural Networks

Shakespearean Acting