Photo: Jerry Ross, PPPL

By Patti Wieser

A stunning image of a plasma plume won DOE Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) post-doctoral intern Jerry Ross the top prize at Princeton University's Art of Science competition. Ross received first place for "Xenon Plasma Accelerator," which depicts the exhaust plume from a Hall thruster, a plasma-based propulsion system for both near-earth and deep space travel. Opening this month, the fourth annual "Art of Science" exhibition features the most aesthetically pleasing images made by Princeton University community members during the course of scientific research. Ross produced the image as a Ph.D. student at Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Michigan, before joining PPPL's Science Education Program in April. The online gallery and prize winners are found here.

Photo: Elle Starkman, PPPL

By Patrick Monaghan

Joining the research team responsible for the pioneering work in electric propulsion being done at Space Systems/Loral in Palo Alto, California seemed like a natural fit for Jerry L. Ross. A PhD scientist whose research is trained on low voltage Hall thrusters, Ross, 29, seemed destined to have his name associated with some of the innovative satellites and space systems being launched into low earth orbit. A Hall thruster is a plasma-based propulsion system for both near-earth and deep space travel.

Until Andrew Zwicker and the Princeton Plasma Physics Lab came calling. As it turned out, the scientific glamour of Silicon Valley was no match for the Science Education Program that Zwicker heads up at PPPL. "I've never been one to look for my name in lights," says Ross, who began his tenure at PPPL in April. "Granted, when someone offers you that kind of money, you do stop for a second and say, 'well, maybe I'd like it.' But no, it didn't take me too long."

For the next two years, Ross will be channeling his background as a rocket scientist into a post-doctoral research internship at PPPL. Together with Stephanie Wissel, his fellow post-doc intern, Ross will be teaching, completing research projects with students, writing papers on numerous science education initiatives, and grant writing, not to mention leading outreach events, professional development workshops for teachers and enrichment programs for students. "And that's just this week," Andrew Zwicker quips.

Hiring post-doc interns is a first for the Science Education Program at PPPL, and, to Zwicker's knowledge, marks the first time that post-docs have been brought into a national lab specifically for science education.

In July, Ross will teach "Energy in the 21st Century," a one-week session geared toward novice science and math teachers in grades 5-8. The session, which will be held at PPPL, will explore the feasibility of alternative energy sources such as solar, fusion, wind and fuel cells.

"The biggest joy that I get is seeing people grasp concepts that, A, they never knew before, and B, probably never felt they could understand before," says Ross, who earned his PhD from Michigan Technological University in Houghton, MI. "Science has always been this big black box of mystery and magic that people often assume, 'well, I'm not smart enough to know that, or it's too complicated.' That usually isn't the case. It usually is simply the fact that it hasn't been presented properly to them."

Which makes him a perfect match for the Science Education Program. Ross thrives on working with others and the challenges associated with condensing complicated subject matter into very learnable concepts.

Perhaps it's his well-rounded background that stirs the teacher within. As an undergrad at Alma College in Michigan, Ross completed a BS in physics and a BS in mathematics, not to mention a BA in theater. Once he settles into Princeton, this rocket scientist/thespian plans to make his way to local casting calls.

Who knows, there may even be an opportunity for Ross with NASA's Microgravity University in Houston. "Several students in PPPL's Science Education Program have taken dusty plasma experiments on special zero gravity flights through NASA," says Ross. "One of these summers, I'd love join them as an advisor."

The sky's the limit, it would seem. But in Ross's case, maybe not.