Dr. Paul Cassak

Dr. Paul Cassak is a Professor at West Virginia University. He became Associate Director of the Center for KINETIC Plasma Physics in 2020, and a WVU ECAS Woodburn Fellow from 2020- 2022. His research focuses on magnetic reconnection and its applications using analytical techniques, large-scale numerical simulations, and observational data as appropriate. Applications of reconnection are many; solar eruptions (flares and CMEs) and similar eruptions on other sun-like stars, substorms and solar wind-magnetospheric coupling in the geomagnetic magnetic field (relevant to the field of space weather), disruptive events in fusion plasmas, and various astrophysical settings.

His work focuses on reconnection through laboratory experiments (PHASMA Experiment), kinetic and fluid models incorporating the effects of flow shear, turbulence, asymmetries and nonlinear dynamics, three-dimensional magnetic reconnection models, and through his participation on the Theory and Modeling Team of NASA’s Magnetosphere Multiscale Mission.

He holds a graduate degree in Physics from the University of Wisconsin and a doctorate degree in Physics from the University of Maryland.