UCI Professor Liu Chen awarded 2019 Chandrasekhar Prize by Association of Asia-Pacific Physical Societies (AAPPS)

The Association of Asia Pacific Physical Societies under the Division of Plasma Physics awarded Liu Chen, UCI Professor Physics & Astronomy, the 2019 S. Chandrasekhar Prize of Plasma Physics. This award is given to an outstanding scientist in the field of plasma physics as a basis for astrophysics or fusion research, and plasma applications.

“I deeply appreciate this recognition by our Asia-Pacific colleagues. Whatever I have accomplished is the result of, in addition to steady generous funding support over many years, open and stimulating collaborations with students, postdocs and colleagues both here at UCI as well as in the international plasma physics community. I hope to continue these research collaborations toward the realization of fusion energy” said Professor Chen.

Professor Chen is awarded for his research in magnetic fusion and space plasmas; including, notably, geomagnetic pulsation theory, nonlinear gyrokinetic theory, Alfvén wave heating and kinetic Alfvén waves, toroidal Alfvén eigenmodes, “fishbone” and energetic particle modes, and excitation of zonal flow in toroidal plasmas.

Chen is now the only recipient for all three top awards in plasma physics: 2012 Maxwell Prize by American Physical Society, 2008 Alfvén Prize by European Physical Society, and Chandrasekhar Prize by AAPPS.