David A. Hammer

Hammer was born in the Bronx, New York and moved to Los Angeles, California at the age of two. Hammer received a Bachelor's degree in Physics from California Institute of Technology in 1964 and went on to earn his PhD in Applied Physics from Cornell University in 1969.{{Cite web |title=Blazing like the Sun {{!}} Benefited |url=https://www.benefunder.com/technology-causes/david-hammer/blazing-like-the-sun |access-date=2023-08-04 |website=www.benefunder.com |language=en}}

Hammer is the J. Carlton Ward, Jr., Professor of Nuclear Energy Engineering and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Cornell University. He joined the faculty at Cornell in 1977.{{Cite web |title=David A. Hammer {{!}} Electrical and Computer Engineering |url=https://www.ece.cornell.edu/faculty-directory/david-hammer |access-date=2023-08-04 |website=www.ece.cornell.edu}} Before joining Cornell, Hammer worked at the Naval Research Laboratory from 1969-1976 as a research physicist and later supervisory research physicist in the Plasma Physics Division. Hammer taught at the University of Maryland from 1973 and 1976 and at UCLA in 1977. During sabbaticals, he acted as a Visiting Senior Fellow at Imperial College, London, in 1998 at Applied Materials, Inc., and in 2011 at the Paris Observatory, France.{{Cite web |title=OurEnergyPolicy |url=https://www.ourenergypolicy.org/ |access-date=2023-08-04 |website=OurEnergyPolicy |language=en-US}}

In 1990, Hammer co-founded the company Applied Pulse Power, Inc. based on his research of pulsed power technology. The company was awarded five small business innovation research phase 2 grants and was sold in 2020.{{Cite web |title=APPLIED PULSED POWER, INC. {{!}} SBIR.gov |url=https://www.sbir.gov/sbc/applied-pulsed-power-inc |access-date=2023-08-04 |website=www.sbir.gov}}

Hammer has held leadership roles in the High Energy Density Laboratory Plasma (HEDLP) program.{{Cite web |title=NNSA Center – Cornell Laboratory of Plasma Studies |url=https://www.lps.cornell.edu/nnsa-center/ |access-date=2023-08-04 |website=www.lps.cornell.edu}} In 2003, Hammer was a participant of the first NAS/NRC review of HDLP and a co-author of the final report of that review, Frontiers of High Energy Density Physics: The X-games of Contemporary Science.{{Cite book |last=The National Academies |first=National Research Council |title=Frontiers in High Energy Density Physics: The X-Games of Contemporary Science |publisher=The National Academies Press |year=2003 |location=Washington, DC}} In 2006, he was the Founding Chair of the Steering Committee of the HEDSA (the High Energy Density Science Association).{{Cite web |title=High Energy Density Science Association - Steering Committee |url=http://hedsa.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5&Itemid=149 |access-date=2023-08-04 |website=hedsa.org}} Hammer was the Co-Lead of the HEDLP Research Needs Workshop in 2009 (co-sponsored by DOE/OFES and NNSA) and the principal technical author of the workshop report. The DOE Office of Fusion Energy Sciences – NNSA Joint program on HEDLP utilizes the Table of Contents of the workshop report as topics for Funding Opportunity Announcements.{{Cite journal |date=2009 |title=Report of the Workshop on High Energy Density Laboratory Physics Research Needs |url=https://science.osti.gov/-/media/fes/pdf/workshop-reports/Hedlp_brn_workshop_report_oct_2010.pdf |journal=The U.S. Department of Energy Basic Research Needs for High Energy Density Laboratory Physics |via=U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information}}  Hammer also served as a member of the review committee sponsored by NNSA of the national inertial confinement fusion program.{{Cite web |title=NNSA Peer Review and Design Committee |url=https://www.nationalacademies.org/ocga/testimony-before-congress/peer-review-and-design-competition-in-the-nnsa-national-security-laboratories |access-date=2023-08-04 |website=www.nationalacademies.org}} From 1979 to 2010, Hammer participated as a member of the Pulsed Power Review Committee for Sandia National Laboratories.{{Cite report |url=https://www.osti.gov/biblio/805839 |title=Pulsed Power Peer Review Committee Report |last=Bloomquist |first=Douglas D. |date=2002-10-01 |publisher=Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), Albuquerque, NM, and Livermore, CA (United States) |issue=SAND2002-3317 |language=English}}

Hammer has contributed to the American Physical Society, Division of Plasma Physics (APS-DPP) by serving as: Vice-Chair, Chair-elect, Chair, and past chair over a four-year period.{{Cite web |title="Vice-Chair of the Division of Plasma Physics of the American Physical Society" {{!}} Electrical and Computer Engineering |url=https://www.ece.cornell.edu/news/vice-chair-division-plasma-physics-american-physical-society |access-date=2023-08-04 |website=www.ece.cornell.edu}} He has also been a member of the APS Council for four years, member of the APS Executive Board for two years, Chair of an Award Committee for APS, and member of the Nominations Committee for APS.{{Cite web |title=Governance - Unit - DPP |url=https://engage.aps.org/dpp/governance/executive-committee/past-committee-members |access-date=2023-08-04 |website=engage.aps.org}} In addition to his contributions to APS, Hammer has served as a member of an Awards Committee for IEEE from 2019-2022.{{Cite web |title=IEEE Awards Board & Committees |url=https://corporate-awards.ieee.org/ieee-awards-board-committees/ |access-date=2023-08-04 |website=IEEE Awards |language=en-US}}

Hammer's research is focused on pulsed-power-driven high energy density plasmas, plasma radiation sources, controlled fusion, and high-resolution x-ray imaging. Hammer’s research group currently performs experiments ranging from single to multiple wire arrays. These experiments address questions related to inertial confinement fusion.{{Cite web |title=David A. Hammer {{!}} Electrical and Computer Engineering |url=https://www.ece.cornell.edu/faculty-directory/david-hammer |access-date=2023-08-04 |website=www.ece.cornell.edu}}

Hammer assisted in building the first pulsed-power machine in 1967.{{Cite web |title=Lab of Plasma Studies turns 50, wins $15M grant {{!}} Cornell Chronicle |url=https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2017/10/lab-plasma-studies-turns-50-wins-15m-grant |access-date=2023-08-04 |website=news.cornell.edu |language=en}} He, along with a visiting engineer (George Herbert) and a visiting scientist (Phillip Champney) from the AWRE (Atomic Weapons Research Laboratory, Aldermaston, UK), respectively carried out the first intense (200 kA, 60 ns pulsed) electron beam propagation experiments in various low-pressure gases (1968).{{Cite journal |date=1997 |title=Plasma-Physics Research in the School of Electrical Engineering |url=https://ecommons.cornell.edu/bitstream/handle/1813/8279/1997_spring.pdf;jsessionid=D2470161483CD26C728C63858AA7F3DA?sequence=1 |journal=Cornell University, A report from the School of Electrical Engineering |issue=Spring 1997}} Hammer continued with his research utilizing pulse-powered machines at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) where he initiated the intense electron beam propagation experiments (100 kA beams) starting in 1971.{{Cite journal |last=Kholodnaya |first=G. E. |last2=Sazonov |first2=R. V. |last3=Ponomarev |first3=D. V. |last4=Remnev |first4=G. E. |last5=Poloskov |first5=A. V. |date=2017-02-01 |title=Pulsed electron beam propagation in gases under pressure of 6.6kPa in drift tube |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168583X16305419 |journal=Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms |volume=392 |pages=31–35 |doi=10.1016/j.nimb.2016.12.010 |issn=0168-583X}} He research then focused on understanding electron beam propagation in plasmas. Additionally, Hammer joined other scientists in developing the early microwave generation experiments with intense beams.{{Cite journal |last=Ghorbanalilu |first=M. |last2=Rashed-Mohassel |first2=P. |last3=Akbari-Moghanjoughi |first3=M. |date=2020-08-01 |title=Control of ordinary and extraordinary waves excitation by an axial magnetic field in motional plasma |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1574181820300288 |journal=High Energy Density Physics |volume=36 |pages=100750 |doi=10.1016/j.hedp.2020.100750 |issn=1574-1818}}

As a faculty member at Cornell University starting, Hammer and his lab began experiments on the development of practical intense ion beam diodes on pulsed power machines, with a focus on magnetically insulated diodes.{{Cite journal |last=Xiang |first=W |last2=Zhao |first2=W. J |last3=Yan |first3=S |last4=Han |first4=B. X |last5=Le |first5=X. Y |last6=Zeng |first6=B. Q |date=2002-09-01 |title=Particle-in-cell simulations of a planar magnetically insulated ion diode for surface modification of materials |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0257897202002190 |journal=Surface and Coatings Technology |series=Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on SMMIB |volume=158-159 |pages=242–246 |doi=10.1016/S0257-8972(02)00219-0 |issn=0257-8972}} Hammer and his lab designed, built, and tested a magnetically insulated ion diode that was used for repetitive pulse studies at Cornell and was also used for materials surface modification by a spin-off company from Sandia National Laboratories.{{Cite report |url=https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1146652 |title=Pulsed Power Sciences at Sandia National Laboratories -- The Next Generation. |last=Matzen |first=Maurice Keith |date=2007-10-01 |publisher=Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States) |issue=SAND2007-6582C |language=English}}

In 1989, Hammer started the X-pinch research and development work at Cornell University together with a post-doctoral researcher (Niansheng Qi) and a graduate student (Daniel Kalantar).{{Cite patent|number=US5102776A|title=Method and apparatus for microlithography using x-pinch x-ray source|gdate=1992-04-07|invent1=Hammer|invent2=Kalantar|invent3=Qi|inventor1-first=David A.|inventor2-first=Daniel H.|inventor3-first=Nian-Sheng|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US5102776/en}}  The X-pinch generates tiny plasma source are used to study the properties or near-solid density plasmas at 10,000,000 K. This source is developed for possible application to biomedical radiography. The X-pinch is a very tiny, short-lived X-ray source that was invented at the P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute in Moscow and Hammer’s lab has been developing it into a practical point X-ray source and a testing ground for high energy density plasma physics, atomic physics, and X-ray spectroscopy.{{Cite web |date=2001-10-31 |title=Exploding wires open sharp X-ray eye |url=https://www.sciencenews.org/article/exploding-wires-open-sharp-x-ray-eye |access-date=2023-11-08 |language=en-US}}

Hammer and his research group studied unique plasmas including the intermediate atomic number X-pinches made from Ti and Mo, which are almost solid density, almost fully stripped of their electrons, and ~15,000,000 K.{{Cite web |title=Cornell Team Turn To Plasma For X-Ray Fusion System |url=https://www.terradaily.com/reports/Cornell_Team_Turn_To_Plasma_For_XRay_Fusion_System.html |access-date=2023-11-08 |website=www.terradaily.com}} The research group’s ability to understand the unique plasmas positioned them to take part in the development of the pulsed-power side of the high energy density laboratory plasma (HEDLP) program in the United States starting in 1993.{{Cite journal |date=2009 |title=Advancing the Science of High Energy Density Laboratory Plasmas |url=https://science.osti.gov/-/media/fes/fesac/pdf/2009/Fesac_hed_lp_report.pdf |journal=U. S. Department of Energy, Fusion Energy Science Advisory Committee Panel on High Energy Density Laboratory Plasmas}}

Since then, the HEDLP Center of Excellence had formed in 2002. The theme of the center is current-driven HED plasmas (Z-pinches). Hammer has been the principal investigator and director of the center since 2007.{{Cite web |title=Laboratory of Plasma Studies receives $11M renewal {{!}} Cornell Chronicle |url=https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2012/07/plasma-studies-lab-receives-11-million-renewal |access-date=2023-08-04 |website=news.cornell.edu |language=en}}

• 2018: Distinguished Career Award, Fusion Power Associates Board of Directors{{Cite web |title=FPA Awards |url=https://fusionpower.org/Awards.html |access-date=2023-08-04 |website=fusionpower.org}}
• 2006: Ruth and Joel Spira Award for Excellence in Teaching{{Cite web |title=Ruth and Joel Spira Award for Excellence in Teaching {{!}} Electrical and Computer Engineering |url=https://www.ece.cornell.edu/ece/people/faculty-awards-and-honors/ruth-and-joel-spira-award-excellence-teaching |access-date=2023-08-04 |website=www.ece.cornell.edu}}
• 2006: Cornell College of Engineering Teaching Award{{Cite web |title=David A. Hammer {{!}} Cornell Engineering: A Virtual Visit |url=https://visit.engineering.cornell.edu/project/david-a-hammer/ |access-date=2023-08-04 |website=visit.engineering.cornell.edu}}
• 2006: Cornell IEEE Professor of the Year Award{{Cite web |title=Blazing like the Sun {{!}} Benefunder |url=https://www.benefunder.com/technology-causes/david-hammer/blazing-like-the-sun |access-date=2023-08-04 |website=www.benefunder.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=David A. Hammer {{!}} Cornell Engineering: A Virtual Visit |url=https://visit.engineering.cornell.edu/project/david-a-hammer/ |access-date=2023-08-04 |website=visit.engineering.cornell.edu}}
• 2005: McCormack Excellence in Advising Award{{Cite web |title=David A. Hammer {{!}} Cornell Engineering: A Virtual Visit |url=https://visit.engineering.cornell.edu/project/david-a-hammer/ |access-date=2023-08-04 |website=visit.engineering.cornell.edu}}{{Cite web |title=Blazing like the Sun {{!}} Benefunder |url=https://www.benefunder.com/technology-causes/david-hammer/blazing-like-the-sun |access-date=2023-08-04 |website=www.benefunder.com |language=en}}
• 2004: IEEE Plasma Science and Applications Committee Award{{Cite web |date=2023-09-25 |title=Plasma Science and Applications (PSAC) |url=https://ieee-npss.org/technical-committees/plasma-science-and-applications/ |access-date=2023-08-04 |website=Nuclear & Plasma Sciences Society |language=en-US}}
• 2003: Elected Fellow, AAAS{{Cite web |title=Four from Cornell elected fellows of AAAS, world's largest science group {{!}} Cornell Chronicle |url=https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2003/10/four-cornell-elected-fellows-aaas |access-date=2023-08-04 |website=news.cornell.edu |language=en}}
• 1998: Cornell College of Engineering Teaching Award{{Cite web |title=David A. Hammer {{!}} Cornell Engineering: A Virtual Visit |url=https://visit.engineering.cornell.edu/project/david-a-hammer/ |access-date=2023-08-04 |website=visit.engineering.cornell.edu}}
• 1993: Named J. Carleton Ward, Jr. Professor of Nuclear Energy Engineering{{Cite web |title=David A. Hammer {{!}} Electrical and Computer Engineering |url=https://www.ece.cornell.edu/faculty-directory/david-hammer |access-date=2023-08-04 |website=www.ece.cornell.edu}}
• 1995: Elected Fellow, IEEE{{Cite web |title=IEEE Fellows Directory - Member Profile |url=https://services27.ieee.org/fellowsdirectory/getdetailprofile.html?custNum=YRm0qj6wDSG9Gbcqx3UY2g==&bccaptions=Search%20Results&bclocations=/fellowsdirectory/keywordsearch.html?keyword=hammer |access-date=2023-08-04 |website=IEEE}}
• 1981: Elected Fellow, APS{{Cite web |title=APS Fellow Archive |url=http://www.aps.org/programs/honors/fellowships/archive-all.cfm |access-date=2023-08-04 |website=www.aps.org |language=en}}

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