Valery A. Godyak (born June 8, 1941 in Czernowitz) is a Russian-American physicist who specializes in

plasma physics Plasma ()πλάσμα
, Henry George Liddell, R ...

. As a scientist, he made fundamental contributions to the understanding of

radio frequency Radio frequency (RF) is the oscillation rate of an alternating electric current or voltage or of a magnetic, electric or electromagnetic field or mechanical system in the frequency range from around to around . This is roughly between the upp ...

(RF) induced discharges in plasmas as well as in associated nonlinear phenomena. As an industrial physicist, he developed induction lamps such as the Icetron-Endura RF lamp and received honors from companies such as

Osram Sylvania Osram Sylvania Inc. is the North American operation of lighting manufacturer Osram. It was established in January 1993, with the acquisition of GTE’s Sylvania lighting division by Osram GmbH. In 2016, Osram spun off their general lighting busi ...

and

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...

Early life and career

Godyak received his Engineer-Physicist degree from Leningrad Technical University in 1964. In the same year, he became an assistant professor at Ryazan Radiotechnological University. In 1968, he received his Ph.D. in Plasma Physics at the

Lomonosov University M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...

in Moscow. He then worked at the Laboratory of Fusion Engineering at the State Institute of Electro-Physical Apparatus in Leningrad, where he was involved in relativistic electron beams,

electron optics Electron optics is a mathematical framework for the calculation of electron trajectories along electromagnetic fields. The term ''optics'' is used because magnetic and electrostatic lenses act upon a charged particle beam similarly to optical lense ...

and accelerator physics. In 1972, he joined Lomonosov University as a group leader for gas discharges with

radio waves Radio waves are a type of electromagnetic radiation with the longest wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum, typically with frequencies of 300 gigahertz (GHz) and below. At 300 GHz, the corresponding wavelength is 1 mm (short ...

. In 1980, he was dismissed on political grounds and worked in

auxiliaries Auxiliaries are support personnel that assist the military or police but are organised differently from regular forces. Auxiliary may be military volunteers undertaking support functions or performing certain duties such as garrison troops, u ...

, for example as an elevator electrician in a Moscow hospital. In 1984, he joined the United States and became a scientist with the

GTE Corporation GTE Corporation, formerly General Telephone & Electronics Corporation (1955–1982), was the largest independent telephone company in the United States during the days of the Bell System. The company operated from 1926, with roots tracing furth ...

(a follower of the

Bell Telephone Company The Bell Telephone Company, a common law joint stock company, was organized in Boston, Massachusetts, on July 9, 1877, by Alexander Graham Bell's father-in-law Gardiner Greene Hubbard, who also helped organize a sister company – the New Englan ...

), following the 1993 takeover of the Lamp Party by Osram at

Honors and awards

Godyak is a fellow of the

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of k ...

and the

IEEE The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a 501(c)(3) professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operation ...

. In 2004, he received the

James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, ...

with

Noah Hershkowitz Noah Hershkowitz (August 16, 1941 – November 13, 2020) was an American experimental plasma physicist. He was known for his pioneering research on the understanding of plasma sheaths, solitons and double layers in plasmas, as well as the develo ...

for "''fundamental contributions to the physics of low temperature plasmas, including radio frequency wave heating, sheath physics, potential profiles, diagnostic probes, and the industrial applications of plasmas".''

Books

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Godyak, Valery 1941 births Living people Scientists from Chernivtsi American plasma physicists Russian plasma physicists Moscow State University alumni Fellow Members of the IEEE Fellows of the American Physical Society