Stix, Thomas Howard

▪ 2002

      American physicist (b. July 12, 1924, St. Louis, Mo.—d. April 16, 2001, Princeton, N.J.), was a pioneer in the field of plasma physics. After serving (1943–46) as a radio technician in the U.S. Army, Stix earned a B.A. from the California Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. from Princeton University. In 1953 he was recruited to join Project Matterhorn, an effort by scientists at Princeton to induce a controlled thermonuclear fusion reaction in a confined plasma, or electrified gas, in order to generate energy. Stix developed an antenna—later known as a Stix coil—that generated microwaves to heat plasma to the high temperatures necessary for fusion. Much of his later research involved refining the process of heating plasma with waves. Stix published an influential book, The Theory of Plasma Waves, in 1962. He was also responsible for establishing a graduate program in plasma physics at Princeton—the first of its kind. He received the Maxwell Prize, the highest award in plasma physics, in 1980.

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