Sir Steven Charles Cowley (born 1959) is a British theoretical physicist and international authority on nuclear fusion and

astrophysical plasmas Astrophysical plasma is plasma outside of the Solar System. It is studied as part of astrophysics and is commonly observed in space. The accepted view of scientists is that much of the baryonic matter in the universe exists in this state. When ...

. He has served as director of the United States Department of Energy (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) since 1 July 2018. Previously he served as president of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, since October 2016. and head of the

EURATOM The European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom) is an international organisation established by the Euratom Treaty on 25 March 1957 with the original purpose of creating a specialist market for nuclear power in Europe, by developing nucl ...

/ CCFE Fusion Association and chief executive officer of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA).

Education

Cowley won a scholarship to Corpus Christi College, Oxford and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Physics in 1981. He went on to study at Princeton University as a Harkness Fellow and was awarded a PhD in 1985 for research into tokamaks supervised by Russell Kulsrud.

Career and research

Following his PhD, Cowley completed postdoctoral research at the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (CCFE). He returned to Princeton in 1987 and joined the faculty at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), in 1993, becoming full professor in 2000. At Imperial College, London, Cowley led the plasma physics group from 2001 to 2003, while also serving as a part-time professor. He was appointed as the head of the EURATOM / CCFE Fusion Association in September 2008 and as CEO of UKAEA in November 2009. On 18 March 2015, he was elected the 31st President of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, his alma mater: he took up the post on 1 October 2016. He is the first scientist to hold the post. On 1 July 2018, he was appointed director of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL). Cowley's research interests are in plasmas and nuclear fusion, in astrophysical plasmas and the laboratory, such as the Joint European Torus (JET) and the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). His research has been funded by Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and the

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is a British Research Council that provides government funding for grants to undertake research and postgraduate degrees in engineering and the physical sciences, mainly to universi ...

(EPSRC). Cowley co-chaired the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

assessment of plasma science in the United States., 2009-12-22

Awards and honours

Cowley was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2014. His biography reads; His certificate of election reads: Cowley was also elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS) in 1998, the Institute of Physics (FInstP) in 2004 and the

Royal Academy of Engineering The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) is the United Kingdom's national academy of engineering. The Academy was founded in June 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering with support from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who became the first senior ...

(FREng) in 2014. He was awarded and honorary fellowship of the Institute of Engineering and Technology in 2015. In 2011, he was appointed to the UK Government's Council for Science and Technology. In the

2018 Birthday Honours The 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as p ...

, Cowley was appointed a Knight Bachelor for services to science and to the development of nuclear fusion. In July 2019, Cowley was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Science (''honoris causa'') by the University of Lancaster for his standing as the international authority on fusion energy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowley, Steven Charles 1959 births Living people Fellows of the American Physical Society Fellows of the Institute of Physics Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering British physicists Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford Harkness Fellows Presidents of Corpus Christi College, Oxford Academics of Imperial College London Princeton University alumni Knights Bachelor Date of birth missing (living people) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory people