Donald William Kerst

Donald William Kerst, born on November first, nineteen eleven, was a pioneering American physicist renowned for his contributions to accelerator physics and plasma physics. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, he made significant strides in the field of particle acceleration, most notably through the development of the betatron, a groundbreaking type of particle accelerator designed to accelerate electrons.

At the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Kerst successfully created the first operational betatron, which became functional on July fifteenth, nineteen forty. His expertise was further utilized during World War II when he took a leave of absence to collaborate with the engineering team at General Electric. During this time, he designed a portable betatron specifically for inspecting dud bombs, showcasing his innovative approach to practical applications of physics.

In nineteen forty-three, Kerst joined the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos Laboratory, where he played a crucial role in the design and construction of the Water Boiler, a nuclear reactor intended for laboratory use. His career continued to flourish as he served as the technical director of the Midwestern Universities Research Association from nineteen fifty-three to nineteen fifty-seven, focusing on advanced particle accelerator concepts, including the FFAG accelerator.

From nineteen fifty-seven to nineteen sixty-two, Kerst worked at General Atomics's John Jay Hopkins Laboratory, where he tackled challenges in plasma physics. Collaborating with Tihiro Ohkawa, he invented toroidal devices that effectively contained plasma using magnetic fields. These innovative devices were the first to maintain plasma stability and achieve lifetimes surpassing the Bohm diffusion limit, marking a significant advancement in the field.