IN MEMORIAM
MARSHALL N. ROSENBLUTH
Professor Marshall N. Rosenbluth passed away on September 28,
2003, after a valiant two-year struggle with pancreatic cancer.
During much of his last two years, he maintained a high level
of productivity in his research activities as well in his scientific
advisory roles, a testament to his strength of character that
typified his entire life.
Marshall Rosenbluth was born in Albany, New York, on February
5, 1927. His intellectual gifts were already admired in Stuyvesant
High School in New York City when he graduated in 1942. One of
us (H. M.) met Marshall for the first time at this high school
just as he was leaving to go to Harvard. Even then he was one
of the “heroes” of Stuyvesant, who was sought after
by incoming students for advice and guidance. Subsequently he
received, in 1968, the Stuyvesant Alumni Achievement Award. His
undergraduate college education was interrupted by his voluntary
service in the U.S. Navy (1944-46). He then returned to Harvard
to graduate in 1946 with a B.S. (Phi Beta Kappa) diploma at the
age of 19. Rosenbluth then attended graduate school at the University
of Chicago, obtaining his Ph.D. under the supervision of Edward
Teller in the emerging area of high energy particle physics.
His first post-doctoral position was as instructor at Stanford
University (1949-1950), where he derived the elastic scattering
cross section of electron off protons. This famous ‘Rosenbluth
formula’ was the basis of the analysis used by Robert Hofstadter
in his Nobel prize-winning experimental investigation.
He next joined the Los Alamos Laboratory as a staff member from
1950-56 to participate in the nation’s weapons program
where he became a leading member of the team that developed the
hydrogen bomb. During his career in Los Alamos, he began his
life-long quest to develop controlled fusion into a viable energy
source. In addition, he made fundamental advances in the use
of computational algorithms as a tool for theoretical research.
His pioneering work on the Monte-Carlo algorithm is the basis
of many present-day calculations in physics, chemistry, and engineering.
In 1956, Rosenbluth joined a new nuclear energy research company,
General Atomics (GA) in San Diego, in the position of senior
research advisor. Together with his group at GA and collaborators
from other laboratories, he addressed and solved many of the
basic stability and transport issues that were needed to understand
how to obtain good confinement of an ionized gas (a plasma) in
a magnetic field to achieve net energy from controlled nuclear
fusion. Rosenbluth was appointed professor of physics in 1960
at the new University of California of San Diego (UCSD) campus,
which he then held jointly with the GA position. In 1964, he
was the recipient of the E.O. Lawrence Prize awarded by the U.S.
Atomic Energy Commission. Rosenbluth, together with Roald Sagdeev,
then of the Soviet Union, co-directed an international plasma
theory workshop in 1965-66 at the International Centre of Theoretical
Physics (ICTP) in Trieste. This workshop led to many new scientific
contributions as well as an international camaraderie that remain
significant to this day.
Rosenbluth accepted a professorship at the Princeton Institute
of Advanced Study in 1967. In addition, he served as a senior
staff member of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and lecturer
with rank of professor at Princeton University. In this period,
he and his collaborators continually remained in the forefront
of magnetic fusion confinement theory. The international program
in controlled inertial fusion started during his stay at Princeton,
and Rosenbluth contributed to many of the new theoretical insights
that were needed in this newly-emerging field. He also developed
a special post-doctoral program at the Institute, which became
a ‘finishing school’ for many of the leading plasma
theorists in the field today. In recognition of his contributions,
Rosenbluth was elected to the National Academy of Science in
1969, and he was the second recipient of the James Clerk Maxwell
Prize in Plasma Physics awarded by the American Physical Society
in 1976.
In 1980, Marshall Rosenbluth moved to The University of Texas
at Austin, as professor and director of the newly-formed Institute
of Fusion Studies (IFS) that was supported by the Department
of Energy (DOE) with matching funds from The University of Texas.
During the seven years of his tenure at Texas, Rosenbluth led
a beehive of scientific activity in many areas of plasma physics
that included the understanding of how kinetic theory influences
the behavior of magneto-hydrodynamic stability, the development
of new concepts in nonlinear dynamics, and the development of
new approaches in the description of plasma turbulence and transport.
Marshall was appointed to the Fondren Chair in 1983, and he was
a recipient of the Enrico Fermi Prize awarded by the Department
of Energy in 1985. In 1987, the IFS organized a symposium to
celebrate Marshall’s sixtieth birthday. Approximately 150
physicists from many countries (most being past collaborators)
attended, and a book of this symposium, “From Particles
to Plasmas: Lectures Honoring Marshall N. Rosenbluth,” edited
by James Van Dam, was published.
Rosenbluth returned to San Diego in 1987 to be reappointed to
his joint positions at GA and UCSD. He continued to be a leading
contributor to new developments in plasma theory, and his counsel
on scientific directions was frequently sought. During this period
and until his last illness, he was an active member of the Fusion
Energy Special Advisory Committee that advised DOE. In 1993,
Rosenbluth retired from UCSD to become professor emeritus. Upon
this retirement, he took on the responsibility of chief scientist
of the Central Team for the International Tokamak Experimental
Reactor (ITER) until 1999. His group analyzed in great detail
the physics issues that needed to be addressed in the proposed
magnetic confinement experiment that is expected to produce net
energy from nuclear fusion. Naturally, Rosenbluth developed new
insights and solutions of several unexpected issues that emerged
during this design stage. In honor of his lifetime of contributions
to science, President Clinton awarded Rosenbluth the National
Medal of Science in 1997. One of Rosenbluth’s last activities
to which he was deeply committed at GA was advancing new computational
methods through the development of numerical simulation codes
in order to describe plasma turbulence and transport on both
large and small scales.
Marshall Rosenbluth’s choice for his principal discipline
of study, the development of the principles in plasma physics
to achieve practical commercial power from controlled nuclear
fusion, was motivated by his desire that science be used to improve
the well-being of society. Since Marshall had both breath and
depth in many physics disciplines (these included space and astrophysics,
statistical mechanics, laser and physical optics, high energy
particle physics, accelerator physics, etc.), he frequently took ‘vacations’ and
made important contributions to other fields. Examples include
the following: producing a detailed analysis of the free electron
laser and how its spectral intensity can be optimized, hiding
from the CIA and KGB in Paris in the 1970s together with Roald
Sagdeev so that they could develop the criteria for instabilities
arising from laser-plasma interactions, and, more recently, producing
an understanding of the focusing properties of light in negative
refractive optical material. He had the ability to process information
quickly and then make rapid and accurate calculations that usually
solved a problem in a straightforward manner that was elegant
in its simplicity. He actively sought to maintain the strength
of the United States by annually attending the JASON meeting
where scientific military problems were discussed. At the same
time, he worked for world cooperation through activities that
included attending meetings and participating in close collaborations
with many Soviet scientists during the cold war; being among
the first U.S. scientific visitors to China in the 1970s; and
being a co-founder of the U.S.–Japan Institute for Fusion
Theory, which was organized in 1980 when he came to The University
of Texas.
He was often referred to as the ‘pope of plasma physics’ in
recognition of his deep understanding of the field. Many scientists
would go out their way to visit him in order to vent their ideas
and receive his insights, which were always valuable to the progress
of new scientific directions. He was modest in his demeanor,
which enabled him to be an excellent mentor to young scientists
who would quickly feel at ease with him so that they could readily
discuss both scientific and personal matters. In 2000, he received
the Nicholson Medal from the American Physical Society in recognition
of his success in developing young scientists and his leadership
in developing international scientific cooperation.
Rosenbluth’s interests and talents extended beyond scientific
matters. He was facile with languages as well as interested in
politics, sports, art, and music. He had a remarkable wit that
often spiced up lectures, meetings, and parties. Indeed, his
witticisms often displayed deep insight into particular situations.
Rosenbluth clearly enjoyed working with a host of collaborators,
and he encouraged team effort in scientific activity. Moreover,
his fellow scientists and collaborators enjoyed and felt extremely
privileged interacting with him. His works, personality, and
character will be long remembered.
Marshall Rosenbluth is survived by his wife, Sara, and four
children from his previous marriage, Alan, Mary, Robin, and Jean.
<signed>
Larry R. Faulkner, President
The University of Texas at Austin
<signed>
Sue Alexander Greninger, Secretary
The General Faculty
This memorial resolution was prepared by a special committee
consisting of Professors
Herbert L. Berk (chair), Hans Mark and Steven Weinberg.
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