Howard Wilson, a leading theoretical plasma physicist currently located at the UKAEA’s Culham Science Centre, will join the Department in June 2005 as Professor of Plasma Physics. His research in magnetic confinement fusion, together with that of a new Lecturer to be appointed shortly, opens up a new area of study in the Plasma Physics group and makes it one of the UK’s largest with six academic staff.  These appointments are part of thirteen new permanent academic appointments in the Department over a two-year period.

Howard did his PhD in theoretical particle physics at the University of Cambridge before switching subject to fusion energy research at Culham Science Centre in 1988. He is best known for his theoretical research on instabilities in tokamak plasmas, in particular “neoclassical tearing modes” and “edge localised modes”. Both of these are key issues for the planned international experimental facility, ITER (www.iter.org). Although a theoretician at heart, Howard also takes a keen interest in progress on experimental fusion devices, particularly the MAST and JET tokamaks at Culham (www.fusion.org.uk). Other interests include designs for fusion power stations based on the spherical tokamak: a research area pioneered by the UK fusion programme at Culham. He brings many collaborative links with fusion laboratories and universities across Europe, USA, Russia and Japan, which will further help to raise the international profile of the Physics Department at York.