Liu Chen (physicist)

Liu Chen (simplified Chinese: 陈骝; traditional Chinese: 陳騮; pinyin: Chén Liú; born 1946 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang) is an American theoretical physicist who has made original contributions to many aspects of plasma physics. He is known for the discoveries of kinetic Alfven waves[1], toroidal Alfven eigenmodes[2], and energetic particle modes[3]; the theories of geomagnetic pulsations[4], Alfven wave heating[5], and fishbone oscillations[6]; and the first formulation of nonlinear gyrokinetic equations[7]. Chen retired from University of California, Irvine (UCI) in 2012, assuming the title Professor Emeritus of physics and astronomy.

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Chen.
Liu Chen
Liu Chen at UCI in 2004.
Born(1946-01-03)January 3, 1946
Hangzhou, Zhejiang, Republic of China
NationalityChinese-American
Citizenship
  • Republic of China
  • United States of America
EducationNational Taiwan University (B.S.)
Washington State University, Pullman (M.S.)
University of California, Berkeley (Ph.D.)
Spouse(s)
Shingshah Lee (李醒夏)
(
m. 1969)
Children1
Awards
Scientific career
FieldsPlasma physics
Institutions
Thesis (1972)
Doctoral advisorCharles K. Birdsall
Websitewww.faculty.uci.edu/profile.cfm?faculty_id=2034

Biography

Chen was born in 1946 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. In 1950, after the defeat of the Nationalists by the Communists in the Chinese Civil War, Chen left Mainland China with his mother, Shyue Yan King Chen (金學言, 1916-2006), and three siblings. They joined his father, Lee Chen (陳禮, 1913-2003), at the Tiu Keng Leng refugee camp in Hong Kong, where he began his education. The Chen family moved to Taiwan in 1951. Chen was married to Shingshah Lee (李醒夏) in August 1969. They have one son Peijin (陳培進).

Chen graduated from the Affiliated Senior High School of National Taiwan Normal University in 1962. In 1966, he took his undergraduate degree at National Taiwan University. Chen went to United States for graduate schooling in 1967, where he obtained a Master of Science Degree from Washington State University, Pullman in 1969, and a Doctor of Philosophy Degree from the University of California, Berkeley under the supervision of Charles K. Birdsall in 1972, for his research work I. Heating of Magnetized Plasmas by Large-Amplitude Electric Field. II. Reduction of the Grid Effects in Simulation Plasmas.

From 1972 to 1974, Chen did his postdoctoral research with Akira Hasegawa at the Bell Labs. They developed a theory for long-period magnetic pulsations in the magnetosphere based on resonant coupling between hydromagnetic compressional waves and transverse Alfvén continuous spectrum[4]. This theory, later referred to as Chen-Hasegawa field-line-resonance model, successfully explained the observations in the Earth's magnetoshphere by Louis J. Lanzerotti, and has become the standard model for magnetic pulsations in the Earth’s and other planetary magnetospheres. Soon, their focus turned to the charged particle heating via resonant absorption within Alfvén wave continuous spectrum[5]. They discovered the Kinetic Alfvén wave[1], which resolves the logarithmic singularity of magnetohydrodynamic shear Alfvén waves and plays important roles in the heating, acceleration and transport of charged particles in solar, magnetospheric, and laboratory plasmas.

Before joining the faculty at UCI, Chen was a professor at the Princeton University. Chen was the Deputy Head of the Theory Division of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. From 1993 till 2012, Chen was a professor of physics at UCI. Since 2012, Chen has been a professor emeritus.

In 2004, Chen was appointed Kuang-piu Chair Professor at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou.[8] From 2006 to 2016, Chen was the Director of the Institute for Fusion Theory and Simulation (IFTS) at Zhejiang University.[9] In 2016, Chen became the Director Emeritus.

Honors and awards

References
  1. Hasegawa, Akira; Chen, Liu (1976). "Kinetic processes in plasma heating by resonant mode conversion of Alfvén wave". The Physics of Fluids. 19 (12): 1924–1934. doi:10.1063/1.861427. ISSN 0031-9171.
  2. Cheng, C. Z.; Chen, Liu; Chance, M. S. (1985). "High-n ideal and resistive shear Alfvén waves in tokamaks". Annals of Physics. 161 (1): 21–47. doi:10.1016/0003-4916(85)90335-5. ISSN 0003-4916.
  3. Chen, Liu (1994). "Theory of magnetohydrodynamic instabilities excited by energetic particles in tokamaks". Physics of Plasmas. 1 (5): 1519–1522. doi:10.1063/1.870702. ISSN 1070-664X.
  4. Chen, Liu; Hasegawa, Akira (1974). "A theory of long‐period magnetic pulsations: 1. Steady state excitation of field line resonance". Journal of Geophysical Research. 79 (7): 1024–1032. doi:10.1029/JA079i007p01024. ISSN 2156-2202.
  5. Chen, Liu; Hasegawa, Akira (1974). "Plasma heating by spatial resonance of Alfvén wave". The Physics of Fluids. 17 (7): 1399–1403. doi:10.1063/1.1694904. ISSN 0031-9171.
  6. Chen, Liu; White, R. B.; Rosenbluth, M. N. (1984). "Excitation of Internal Kink Modes by Trapped Energetic Beam Ions". Physical Review Letters. 52 (13): 1112–1115. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.52.1122. ISSN 0031-9007.
  7. Frieman, E. A.; Chen, Liu (1982). "Nonlinear Gyrokinetic Equations for Low-Frequency Electromagnetic Waves in General Plasma Equilibrium". The Physics of Fluids. 25 (3): 502–508. doi:10.1063/1.863762. ISSN 0031-9171.
  8. Dr. Chen Liu Appointed as a Kuang-piu Chair Professor of Zhejiang University
  9. 陈骝教授荣获2008年Hannes Alfvén奖
  10. "Professor Liu Chen". phoenix.ps.uci.edu. Retrieved 2019-07-26.
  11. Liu Chen: recipient of the 2008 European Physical Society Plasma Physics Division Hannes Alfv´en Prize
  12. 2004 Award for Excellence in Plasma Physics Research Recipient - Liu Chen
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