Edward Thomas (plasma physicist)


Edward Thomas, Jr. is an American plasma physicist. The Charles W. Barkley Endowed Professor at Auburn University, he was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2015.

Education

Thomas received his bachelors degree from the Florida Institute of Technology in 1989. He then attended MIT for graduate studies, earning a masters degree in 1993. He earned a PhD from Auburn three years later, winning an Outstanding Dissertation Award from the National Society of Black Physicists.

Career

After obtaining his PhD, Thomas was an assistant professor at Fisk University until 1999. He returned to Auburn and joined the physics department, being promoted to associate professor in 2002 and full professor in 2007. From 2012 through 2017, he held the office of Lawrence C. Wit Professor in Auburn's College of Science and Mathematics. In 2015, Thomas became the Charles W. Barkley Endowed Professor in the physics department, and two years later, he took on the additional role of Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies.
At Auburn, Thomas studies multiple aspects of plasma physics, including wave-particle interactions in plasma-phase materials and the effects of microgravity upon dusty plasmas.
He is an associate editor of the Journal of Plasma Physics.

Selected publications