Taik Soo Hahm and Jonathan Menard, both West Windsor residents and physicists, were recently honored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory during a ceremony at the Laboratory on November 20. Menard received the Kaul Prize for Excellence in Plasma Physics Research and Technology Development. Hahm received the PPPL Distinguished Research Fellow.##M:[more]##
Menard, an experimental plasma physicist who works primarily on the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) at PPPL, was recognized for his ground-breaking work on the stability and sustainment of spherical torus plasmas. A spherical torus (ST) is a particularly compact configuration of a fusion device. Menard’s research interests include stability properties of spherical torus plasmas, advanced operating scenarios in the ST, plasma startup, and plasma wave physics. Plasma is a hot, gaseous state of matter used as the fuel to produce fusion energy — the power source of the sun and the stars.
After receiving a bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1992, Menard received a doctorate in plasma physics from Princeton University, Department of Astrophysical Sciences. He conducted post-doctoral research at PPPL before joining the research staff in 1999.
Princeton University awards the Kaul Prize to recognize a recent outstanding technical achievement in plasma physics or technology development by a full-time, regular employee of PPPL. It includes a cash award of $5,”000 for each individual.
Hahm received the Research Fellow Award in recognition of his fundamental contributions to the understanding of plasma turbulence and confinement in toroidal systems, and for his leadership in promoting worldwide collaborations of experiment, theory, and simulation. Toroidal systems refer to a type of experimental fusion device. Hahm is the Head of the Transport and Turbulence Science Focus Group at PPPL and is the group leader in analytic theory at the Lab’s Theory Department. He joined PPPL’s research staff in 1986 after receiving a bachelor degree in physics from Seoul National University in Korea in 1980 and a doctorate in astrophysical sciences from Princeton University in 1984, and spending two years as a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Texas at Austin from 1984 to 1986. Hahm was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 1995.
Minority Achiever
Rom Lanka of Plainsboro was named a 2006 New Jersey Minority Achiever by Schering Plough as a result of his professional accomplishments and involvement in his community. He was honored at New Jersey YMCA’s state-wide recognition event held in East Brunswick in November.
Lanka, the principal manufacturing technical investigator in table coating, conducts technical evaluation and data review of production investigations, technical report writing, and documentation of investigations. He also develops and evaluates corrective actions involving procedural, engineering, and technical corrective actions according to approved procedures; and provides technical expertise and support to source areas. He has been with Shering Plough for four years. He was previously with Guardian Drug Company in East Windsor.
His professional accomplishments include a greater than 90 percent reduction in deviation investigations during the past four years in tablet coating and table manufacturing, and effective implementation of greater than 30 procedural engineering and technical corrective actions in both areas.
The family came to the United States from India in 1994. His wife, Sharadha Lanka, is in human resources at ZNA Infotech in Iselin. Their daughter, Vini Lanka, a junior at High School South, is very active in Civil Air Patrol. (The News, August 25, 2006). They are vital members of the Datta Yoga Center, and are instrumental in bringing activities to South Brunswick every month.
Outside of work, Lanka volunteers on a monthly basis for the Salvation Army packing and distributing food to the less fortunate.
