Profile
Paul Cassak
Physics and Astronomy
Adjunct Professor
Kinard Lab 203 [Office]
Educational Background
B.S., Mathematics and Physics, University of Arizona, 1998
M.S., Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 2001
Ph.D., Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, 2006
Profile/About Me
Paul Cassak joined the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Clemson University as an adjunct professor in 2024. He is currently a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at West Virginia University, where he has been since 2008. Prior to that, he was a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at University of Delaware starting in 2007. He will begin an appointment as a Provost's Distinguished Professor at Clemson University in the Fall of 2025.
Research Interests
Theoretical and computational space plasma physics, magnetic reconnection, kinetic theory
Courses Taught
Electromagnetism 1 and 2 (Graduate core)
Electromagnetism 1 and 2 (Undergraduate core)
Mathematical Methods (Graduate core)
Solar and Space Physics (Graduate elective)
Plasma Kinetic Theory (Graduate elective)
Magnetohydrodynamics (Graduate elective)
Computer simulation of plasmas (Graduate elective)
Nonlinear Dynamics (Graduate elective)
Science and Public Policy (Undergraduate elective)
General Physics 2 (Undergraduate introduction)
Selected Publications
M. Hasan Barbhuiya, Paul A. Cassak, Subash Adhikari, Tulasi N. Parashar, Haoming Liang, and Matthew R. Argall, “HORNET - A Power Density Quantifying Out of Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium Energy Conversion,” Physical Review E, 109, 015205 (2024)
P. A. Cassak, M. Hasan Barbhuiya, Haoming Liang, and Matthew R. Argall, “Quantifying energy conversion in higher order phase-space density moments in plasmas,” Physical Review Letters, 130, 085201 (2023) (Editor's Suggestion)
P. A. Cassak and M. Hasan Barbhuiya, “Pressure-Strain Interaction: I. On Compression, Deformation, and Implications For Pi-D,” Phys. Plasmas, 29, 122306 (2022) (Featured Article)
P. A. Cassak, M. Hasan Barbhuiya and H. Arthur Weldon, “Pressure-Strain Interaction: II. Decomposition in Magnetic Field-Aligned Coordinates,” Phys. Plasmas, 29, 122307 (2022) (Featured Article)
M. Hasan Barbhuiya and P. A. Cassak, “Pressure-Strain Interaction: III. Particle-in-Cell Simulations of Magnetic Reconnection,” Phys. Plasmas, 29, 122308 (2022) (Featured Article)
Yi-Hsin Liu, Paul Cassak, Xiaocan Li, Michael Hesse, Shan-Chang Lin, and Kevin Genestreti, “First-principles theory of the rate of magnetic reconnection in magnetospheric and solar plasmas,” Communications Physics (Nature), 5, 97 (2022)
Peiyun Shi, Prabhakar Srivastav, M. Hasan Barbhuiya, Paul A. Cassak, Earl E. Scime, and Marc Swisdak, “Laboratory Observations of Electron Heating and non-Maxwellian Distributions at the Kinetic Scale During Electron-Only Magnetic Reconnection,” Phys. Rev. Lett., 128, 025002 (2022) (Editor’s Suggestion)
Selected Talks
“Quantifying and Interpreting Energy Evolution in Plasmas in the MMS Era”, Magnetospheric MultiScale (MMS) Community Workshop, Invited Keynote Talk, Los Angeles, California, September 17, 2024
“A Review of Recent Progress on Energy Conversion in Plasmas Beyond Fluid Models” APS DPP, (Plenary) Review talk, Denver, Colorado, November 1, 2023
“A Kinetic Theory Generalization of the First Law of Thermodynamics Capturing Non- Equilibrium Effects", JPP Frontiers of Plasma Physics Colloquium, Online, May 18, 2023
“Challenges and Future Directions in the Theoretical and Computational Study of Magnetic Reconnection”, Triennial Earth Sun Summit (TESS), Invited Talk, Bellevue, Washington, August 9, 2022
“Kinetic-Scale Physics of Magnetic Reconnection in the MMS Era: Accomplishments and Future Challenges for Theoretical Research”, 2020 APS Division of Plasma Physics Meeting, Online, November 10, 2020
Memberships
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Union of Concerned Scientists
American Astronomical Society
American Geophysical Union
American Physical Society
Phi Beta Kappa
Honors and Awards
Institute of Physics Rutherford Plasma Physics Communication Prize, 2024
Fellow of the American Physical Society, 2018
American Geophysical Union James B. Macelwane Medal, 2015
Fellow of the American Geophysical Union, 2015
American Geophysical Union Fred L. Scarf Award, 2008
