Dr. Kenneth Gentle

Biography

Kenneth W. Gentle is a Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Texas at Austin. He received his S.B. in 1962 and Ph.D. in 1966 in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He joined the University of Texas at Austin as an Assistant Professor in 1966, became an Associate Professor in 1970, and was promoted to Professor in 1976. In addition, he was honored with an Alfred Sloan Fellowship from 1973 to 1975 and served as the Josey Professor of Energy from 1986 to 1988. Over the years, Dr. Gentle has engaged in a variety of experiments focusing on nonlinear plasma waves, weak plasma turbulence, strong plasma turbulence, and tokamak confinement physics. He took on the leadership of the tokamak experiment at the University of Texas in 1973, initiated the TEXT Tokamak project in 1976, and continued directing it until 1985, involving various experiments related to transport and heating, completing the project in 1996. His current research revolves around transport experiments using the tokamak facilities at MIT and General Atomics in San Diego. He has been a member of several advisory committees and review panels for prestigious organizations, and he has served as Chairman of the Physics Department and as the Director of the Fusion Research Center. Dr. Gentle is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and a member of the European Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Research Interests