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BY RAMYA GOPAL

In print | Published October 11, 2007

Professor Michael R. Brown in the Physics department was recently awarded the 2008 Prize for a Faculty Member for Research in an Undergraduate Institution by the American Physical Society for his outstanding contributions to plasma physics made possible by his development of a world-class spheromak laboratory at Swarthmore College, and for his energetic mentoring of undergraduate students, according to the APS Web site. The prize consists of a $5,000 stipend and an additional $5,000 unrestricted grant for the research to the recipient’s institution, in this case, Swarthmore.

The American Physical Society is one of the largest organizations in the field of physics with over 40,000 members. This award was created in 1986 to to honor a physicist whose research in an undergraduate setting has achieved wide recognition and contributed significantly to physics and who has contributed substantially to the professional development of undergraduate physics students, according to the American Physical Society’s Web site. Another current Swarthmore physicist, Professor Peter Collings, received the award in 1994 for work on liquid crystals.

In the spheromak laboratory, which deals with the study of magnetic fusion energy concepts, Brown has been replicating and studying the processes that occur in the corona of the sun. The idea is to reproduce conditions or processes that happen in space and [study] the ways magnetic fields can be used to hold hot gas, called plasma, for a fusion energy source, Brown said.

The laboratory has facilitated plasma physics research for the past ten years since Brown started at Swarthmore. The lab was created based on an idea that I had that I thought could be implemented at a small college like Swarthmore. I found that I didn’t need the large scale infrastructure at a research university like Princeton or University of Wisconsin, Brown said, citing universities that have similar research programs and facilities in plasma physics.

Brown, who recieved his Bachelor degree in Physics at Pomona College and his PH.D in Plasma Physics at Dartmouth College, first became interested in this type of research in high school and college. I was interested in doing research to address a need. The universe runs on nuclear fusion energy, that’s where energy comes from in the universe. [I want to] bring a star to the earth, in a lab, to have safe, clean, plentiful energy.

The other aspect of Brown’s research includes his collaboration with students each summer.

During the academic year, from September to May, we focus on teaching in class and the seminar room. From May to September, our focus is research with students. This is a unique feature of Swarthmore: Both excellence in teaching and research is valued, Brown said.

Over the past ten years, sixteen Honors Physics students and another twenty other students have worked with Brown over the summer.

While Brown appreciated the award as recognition for the college and the department, he also considered it great news for the students.

I couldn’t have done it without the 16 honors students over the past decade. Each has contributed a different piece. It’s really a tribute to their work, Brown said.

Anna Phillips ’10 worked with Brown in his lab this past summer. I appreciated [how] Professor Brown and Christopher Cothran from Haverford went out of their way to explain about experiments, Phillips said, describing the most valuable part of her summer experience. I was not just learning about the specific experiment, but how experiments on this scale work.

This summer, the research participants were trying to replicate the thermal conditions of plasma. [Although] we’re not anywhere near having a fusion reactor ¦ it [has] reached a million degrees in SSX [Swarthmore Spheromak Experiment], Brown said. We want it hotter and denser so we’re trying a different shape. On surface of the sun, there are magnetic loops called coronal loops. We were making small versions of those and studying how they interact.

This [type of research] hardly ever exists at small college[s], world class research with just students working on it. It’s a great opportunity for research experience, Benjamin Good ’10 said. Good has previously taken a class taught by Brown.

Brown attributes the success of his collaboration and research partly to the administration. There are only a few colleges like [Swarthmore] that have the commitment from the administration for research and the lab space provided for me, and funding for summer students for research for senior thesis.

Department head Professor Carl Grossman appreciated the award as a confirmation that Michael is doing work comparable with the best people in other schools impressive graduate level research at a small college.

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