Charles K. (Ned) Birdsall

Professor Emeritus, Professor in the Graduate School

Research Areas

• Energy (ENE)
• Electromagnetics and plasmas; Plasma physics, modeling, and simulation; Computing in Science and Engineering (CS&E)

Biography

Received his B.S.E. at the University of Michigan in 1946, M.S.E. University of Michigan, 1948, and Ph. D. Stanford University, 1951. From 1951-1955 he worked at Hughes Aircraft Company on microwave tubes, including resistive-wall, reactive-wall and rippled-wall amplifiers, as well as periodic structures (e.g., ring-bar helix) and large-C analysis for high power traveling-wave tubes, leading to the first multikilowatt TWT at X-band. From 1955-59 he was at the General Electric Microwave Laboratory as leader of the electron physics group, with work on electron guns, streams and traveling-wave tubes. The work at Hughes and General Electric led to publication of 14 journal articles, granting of 27 patents (most co-authored) and election to Fellow of IEEE. In 1959 he joined the Electrical Engineering Department, UC Berkeley.

Selected Publications

• W. D. Qiu, K. J. Bowers, and C. K. Birdsall, "Electron series resonant discharges: comparison between simulation and experiment," Plasma Sources, Science and Technology, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 57-68, Feb. 2003.
• W. Qiu and C. K. Birdsall, "Verification of magnetized electron series resonance from 1-D plasma diode noise current," IEEE Trans. Plasma Science, vol. 30, no. 5, pt. 2, pp. 2035-2041., Oct. 2002.
• D. J. Cooperberg and C. K. Birdsall, "Series resonance sustained plasmas in a metal bound plasma slab," Plasma Sources, Science and Technology, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 96-113, May 1998.
• D. J. Cooperberg and C. K. Birdsall, "Unmagnetized sheath waves," Czechoslovak journal of physics, vol. 48, pp. 81-90, Feb. 1998.
• D. J. Cooperberg and C. K. Birdsall, "Surface wave sustained plasmas in a metal bound plasma slab," Plasma Sources, Science and Technology, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 41-53, Feb. 1998.
• C. K. Birdsall and D. Fuss, "Clouds-in-clouds, clouds-in-cells physics for many-body plasma simulation," J. Computational Physics, vol. 135, no. 2, pp. 141-148, Aug. 1997.
• C. K. Birdsall, "Particle-in-cell charged-particle simulations, plus Monte Carlo collisions with neutral atoms, PIC-MCC," IEEE Trans. Plasma Science, vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 65-85, April 1991.
• C. K. Birdsall and A. B. Langdon, Plasma Physics via Computer Simulation, S. Cowley, P. Stott, and H. Wilhelmsson, Eds., Plasma Physics Series, Philadelphia, PA: Institute of Physics Publishing, 1991.
• H. Okuda and C. K. Birdsall, "Collisions in a plasma of finite-size particles," Physics of Fluids, vol. 13, no. 8, pp. 2123-2134, Aug. 1970.
• A. B. Langdon and C. K. Birdsall, "Theory of plasma simulation using finite-size particles," Physics of Fluids, vol. 13, no. 8, pp. 2115-2122, Aug. 1970.
• C. K. Birdsall, A. B. Langdon, C. F. McKee, H. Okuda, and D. Wong, "Theory and experiments for a plasma consisting of clouds interacting with clouds (CIC) with and without a spatial grid," in Proc. 2nd APS Topical Conf. on Numerical Simulation of Plasma, 1968.
• C. K. Birdsall and D. Fuss, "Cloud-in-cell computer experiments in two and three dimensions," in Proc. 2nd APS Topical Conf. on Numerical Simulation of Plasma, 1968.
• C. K. Birdsall and W. B. Bridges, Electron Dynamics of Diode Regions, New York: Academic Press, 1966.
• W. B. Bridges and C. K. Birdsall, "Space-charge instabilities in electron diodes. II," J. Applied Physics, vol. 34, no. 10, pp. 2946-2955, Oct. 1963.
• C. K. Birdsall and W. B. Bridges, "Space-charge instabilities in electron diodes and plasma converters," J. Applied Physics, vol. 32, no. 12, pp. 2611-2618, Dec. 1961.
• C. K. Birdsall and J. R. Whinnery, "Waves in an electron stream with general admittance walls," J. Applied Physics, vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 314-323, March 1953.