Joshua A. Breslau

ADDRESS:

Office:

T140C
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
Princeton, NJ 08543
TEL (609) 243-2677

OBJECTIVE:

Computational plasma physics research in support of the magnetic fusion energy program.

EDUCATION:

7/95 - 5/01 - Princeton University
Princeton, NJ

Master of Arts degree in astrophysical sciences/plasma physics, June 1997.

Doctor of Philosophy degree in plasma physics, June 2001.

9/91 - 6/95 - Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA

Bachelor of Science degree in physics with a minor in philosophy, June 1995.
GPA: 4.8

9/87 - 5/91 - Skyline High School
Dallas, TX

Graduated 4th in a class of 700.
GPA: 98%

EXPERIENCE:

10/03 - present Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
Princeton, NJ

Continuing work with the M3D project group. Conducting research into resistive and extended MHD phenomena in low aspect ratio tokamaks. Investigating advanced numerical techniques for nonlinear extended MHD modeling. Supervisors: Steve Jardin, Janardhan Manickam.

5/01 - 9/03 Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
Princeton, NJ

Worked as a post-doc with the Multilevel 3D (M3D) code development group. Prepared documentation for I/O, mesh generation, matrix construction and linear solver procedures. Generalized mesh generation routines and developed implicit fourth-order finite element routines for stabilization of two-fluid equations. Conducted original research on "current holes" in tokamaks and on nonlinear behavior of tokamak sawteeth. Acted as one of the liaisons with external applied math teams working on improving code performance. Supervisors: Wonchull Park and Steve Jardin.

12/97 - 4/01 Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
Princeton, NJ

Developed a scalable parallel resistive MHD/two-fluid code to investigate magnetic reconnection and related phenomena. Used this code to characterize the effects of anomalous resistivity and Hall physics on the reconnection rate and boundary layer geometry. Advisor: Steve Jardin.

6/97 - 8/97 Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge, TN

Helped in developing a technique to minimize the spectral width of the Fourier representation of stellarator flux surfaces in the VMEC equilibrium code, allowing investigation of larger regions of parameter space. Advisor: Steve Hirshman.

8/96 - 5/97 Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
Princeton, NJ

Investigating selective particle "bucket transport" with frequency sweeping using a guiding-center code. Advisor: Harry Mynick.

7/95 - 8/96 Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
Princeton, NJ

Created data-acquistion and analysis software for diagnostics on the CDX-U tokamak with LabVIEW. Prepared to use Langmuir probes to make floating-potential measurements at the plasma edge in order to characterize spatial correlations in plasma density. Supervisor: Raffi Nazikian.

6/94 - 5/95 MIT Center for Space Research
Cambridge, MA

Developed mission operations software for the HETE satellite. Wrote data-translating and -sorting programs, and general-purpose code for compiling HETE data processing programs. Created a realistic simulator of images from the HETE UV cameras. Supervisors: Geoffrey Crew and Roland Vanderspek.

6/93 - 8/93 University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Dallas, TX

Worked in Radiology on processing of MRI data with a Sun workstation. Experimented with echo-planar imaging data. Developed code for data compression; 2D Fast Fourier Transforms of data sets with composite numbers of pixels on a side; and cubic spline interpolation enlargement of images for display. Supervisors: Roddy McColl and Ron Peshock.

6/92 - 8/92 University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Dallas, TX

Worked on molecular modeling in Pharmacology. Used distance geometry and simulated annealing programs running on an SGI to determine the conformation of a GnRH analog based on NOESY NMR data. Supervisor: Jose Rizo-Rey.

2/92 - 5/92 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA

Worked in the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) in Chemical Engineering. Developed and simulated a model for the pharmacokinetics of lipid metabolism in hypercholesterolemic rabbits, to aid in the development and testing of a bioreactor that reduces overall plasma LDL. Supervisor: Samuel Shefer.

6/91 - 8/91 Superconducting Super Collider
Dallas, TX

Worked as a student intern in the SSC Magnet Systems detail design division. Provided programming support for CAD users, including the development of a mail notification program. Helped construct a graphical interface for a magnet simulation program (COP7). Supervisors: Jerry Cox and Bill Archer.

6/90 - 8/90 University of Texas at Dallas
Richardson, TX

Worked as Clark Foundation Research participant in the quantum optics group. Studied theoretical nonlinear optics in small liquid droplets using Mathematica. Plotted diagrams of field lines for several normal modes. Supervisor: Cyrus Cantrell.

PUBLICATIONS:

"Simulation studies of the role of reconnection in the `current hole' experiments in the Joint European Torus"
J.A. Breslau, S.C. Jardin, and W. Park. Physics of Plasmas. Vol. 10, Issue 5, May 2003, pp. 1665-1669.
"Global extended magnetohydrodynamic studies of fast magnetic reconnection"
J.A. Breslau, S.C. Jardin. Physics of Plasmas. Vol. 10, Number 5, May 2003, pp. 1291-1298.
"A parallel algorithm for global magnetic reconnection studies"
J.A. Breslau, S.C. Jardin. Computer Physics Communications Vol. 151 (2003), pp. 8-24.
"The Role of Axisymmetric Reconnection Events in JET Discharges with Extreme Shear Reversal"
B.C. Stratton, J.A. Breslau, R.V. Budny, S.C. Jardin, W. Park, H.R. Strauss, L.E. Zakharov, B. Alper, V. Drozdov, N.C. Hawkes, S. Reyes-Cortes and contributors to the EFDA-JET Workprogramme. Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. Vol 44, pp. 1127-1142, July 2002.
"Numerical Modeling of Zero Core Current Density in Tokamaks" (poster),
J. Breslau, W. Park, B. Stratton, S. Jardin. American Physical Society Division of Plasma Physics meeting, Long Beach, CA, October 2001.
"Numerical Study of the Effect of the Hall Term on Magnetic Reconnection" (poster),
J. Breslau, S. Jardin. International Sherwood Fusion Theory meeting, Los Angeles, CA, March 2000.
"Numerical Study of Two-Fluid Effects on Magnetic Reconnection in Merging Spheromaks" (poster),
J. Breslau, S. Jardin. American Physical Society Division of Plasma Physics meeting, Seattle, WA, November 1999.
"High-Resolution Simulations of Merging Spheromaks" (poster),
J. Breslau, S. Jardin, and R. Kulsrud. American Physical Society Centennial meeting, Atlanta, GA, March 1999.
"A New Parallel Resistive MHD Code for High-Resolution Studies of Magnetic Reconnection" (poster),
J. Breslau, S. Jardin. American Physical Society Division of Plasma Physics meeting, New Orleans, November 1998.
"Explicit Spectrally-Optimized Fourier Series for Nested Magnetic Surfaces",
S.P. Hirshman and J. Breslau. Physics of Plasmas. Vol 5, pp. 2664-2675, July 1998.
"Tangential Imaging of Density Fluctuations on CDX-U" (poster),
E. Lo, R. Nazikian, D. Stutman, J. Breslau, J. Wright, 1996 11th Topical Conference on High-Temperature Plasma Diagnostics, Monterey, CA.
"A Novel Conformation in a Highly Constrained Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone Analog,"
J. Rizo, R.B. Sutton, J. Breslau, F.C. Korder, J. Porter, J. Rivier, A.T. Hagler, and L.M. Gierasch. J. Am. Chem. Soc. Vol 118, pp. 970-976, February 1996.
"Computer Simulation of LDL Removal in the Presence of a Bioreactor Containing Phospholipase A2,"
Samuel Shefer, Joshua Breslau, and Robert Langer. Biotechonology Progress.
"Simulation of the Effect of a Bioreactor that Modifies LDL on the Biodistribution of LDL in the Body," (abstract)
Samuel Shefer, Joshua Breslau, and Robert Langer. AIChE, Miami Beach, July, 1992.

HONORS/AWARDS:

2000: Ray Grimm memorial prize for outstanding achievement in computational physics.
1999: Awarded the Charlotte Elizabeth Procter Honorific Fellowship by Princeton University in recognition of distinguished work in the Department of Plasma Physics.
1998: FES Fellowship renewed
1997: FES Fellowship renewed
1996: U.S. Department of Energy Magnetic Fusion Science Fellowship recipient
1995: Research Assistantship Fellowship, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
1994: Member, Sigma Pi Sigma (National Physics Honor Society)
1991: National Merit Scholarship recipient
1991: Dallas Morning News Outstanding Mathematics Student
1991: Westinghouse Science Talent Search Semifinalist
1990: Dallas School Board commendation (for scoring 1600 on SAT)
1990: National Honor Society member

SKILLS:

Proficient in programming in C, C++, Pascal, Fortran 77, Fortran 90, and IDL, with experience in other computer languages. Extensive experience with UNIX, X Windows, Windows 2000, and MacOS.

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