Professor Bill Dorland

Professor Bill Dorland (IREAP, Physics) has been awarded the James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics "For pioneering work in kinetic plasma turbulence that revolutionizes turbulent transport calculations for magnetic confinement devices and inspires research in astrophysical plasma turbulence."

The prize was established in 1975 by the Maxwell Technologies, Inc., in honor of the Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell and is currently sponsored by General Atomics. The prize is awarded for outstanding contributions to the advancement and diffusion of the knowledge of properties of highly ionized gases of natural or laboratory origin.

Professor Dorland is the fifth member of the Institute for Research in Electronics and Applied Physics to receive this award. Previous awardees are: Hans R. Griem (1991), James F. Drake (2010), Phillip A. Sprangle (2013), and Thomas M. Antonsen, Jr. (2023).

Professor Dorland graduated with a B.S. in physics (special and highest honors) from the University of Texas in 1988, a M.S. in public affairs from Princeton University in 1993, and a Ph.D. in astrophysical sciences from Princeton University in 1993. He joined the Department of Physics, University of Maryland in 2001 and the Institute for Research in Electronics and Applied Physics in 2016. He is a University of Maryland Distinguished Scholar-Teacher and served as Director of the Honors College for six years.

Published September 18, 2024