Princeton University graduate student Prateek Sharma never met Tom Stix, but he was well acquainted with the renowned physicist and educator.

"Almost everyone in the field knew of Professor Stix," said Sharma, recalling how he had first heard about Stix while earning a bachelor's degree in engineering-physics at the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay. There, he'd come across The Theory of Plasma Waves, the classic text authored by Stix in 1962. "His book is very famous. It is like a bible to plasma physicists," said Sharma.

Sharma, a second-year graduate student in Princeton University's Program in Plasma Physics, became more directly linked with Stix this summer when he was named the first recipient of the Thomas H. Stix '54 Plasma Physics Prize.

Stix, professor emeritus in astrophysical sciences at Princeton University, died in 2001. He was the founder and longtime director of graduate studies for the University's Program in Plasma Physics and a leader in the development of plasma physics. Among his many civic activities, Stix was a chair of the American Physical Society's Committee on International Freedom of Scientists. Last year, a fund was created in his memory to establish a prize for first- and second-year graduate students studying plasma-related topics. The prize would enable international travel for conferences or research.

"It was gratifying to see so many of Stix's former students and colleagues contribute to make this prize possible," said Greg Hammett, one of the organizers of the fund. Hammett is a principal research physicist at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) and a lecturer with the rank of professor at the University. "A prize that enables students at an early stage of their careers to experience the international nature of the scientific community is a good way to honor Stix's concerns both for graduate student education and for international scientific and humanitarian issues."

Sam Cohen and Roscoe White, both principal research physicists at PPPL and lecturers with the rank of professor at the University, made the selection for the prize this year.

Sharma used the $2,000 award to attend an international conference in Krakow, Poland, about particle acceleration in astrophysical objects. While in Poland, he also spent time at the Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center in Warsaw, where he gave a talk about plasma physics and spent time one-on-one with several scientists. "Instituting this award is a good thing because rarely do younger graduate students get such a chance to be exposed to an international conference and meet people and interact with scientists," said Sharma. "There are so many things you can learn."

As a candidate for the prize, Sharma submitted a proposal outlining how he would use the award to attend the conference. "I thought it would be a good idea for me to go to the meeting to look at plasma physics from a different perspective, in particular, how it relates to astrophysics," said Sharma. He is presently working on a project about particle heating in non-radiative accretion disks near black holes.

The conference, where talks were given in English, drew about 80 scientists. There, Sharma dined with established scientists, attended a series of talks, and soaked up new knowledge. He also presented a poster, "Collisionless Magnetorotational Instability."

"It was a good chance for me to learn and to get inspired," said Sharma.

Anthony R. DeMeo at ademeo@pppl.gov
Head, Information Services

Patricia Wieser at pwieser@pppl.gov

Anthony R. DeMeo at ademeo@pppl.gov