Philip Morrison
- Professor
- Texas Atomic Energy Research Foundation Professorship
- Physics
Contact Information
Research
- Basic nonlinear plasma dynamics; Hamiltonian dynamics of few and infinite degree-of-freedom systems; fluid mechanics.
Philip Morrison is a mathematical and theoretical physicist with a wide range of interests. Naturally skeptical, he derives the most satisfaction from scientific work that demonstrates mathematical rigor or is closely aligned with experimental data. As a member of the Institute for Fusion Studies, Morrison has engaged in both basic and applied plasma physics research. He has also been associated with the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Program for twenty years, contributing to both fundamental and applied fluid mechanics problems as a member of its faculty.
Morrison’s research has extensively explored the nonlinear Hamiltonian dynamics of systems with both few and infinite degrees of freedom. He finds particular interest in theoretical nonlinear dynamics, specifically Hamiltonian chaos theory. In addition, he has worked on the development and application of advanced computational algorithms, partly through his affiliation with the ICES Applied Mathematics Group.
Research Areas
- Energy
Education
- Ph.D., University of California, San Diego (1979)
Publications
172. Z. Yoshida and P. J. Morrison, "Unfreezing Casimir Invariants: Singular Perturbations Giving Rise to Forbidden Instabilities,” to appear in Spectral Analysis, Stability and Bifurcations in Nonlinear Physical Systems, eds. O. Kirillov and D. Pelinovsky (Wiley, 2013) accepted Feb. 2013.
171. N. J. Balmforth, P. J. Morrison, and J.-L. Thiffeault, "Pattern Formation in Hamiltonian Systems with Continuous Spectra; a Normal-Form Single-Wave Model,” Review of Modern Physics, commissioned (2013).
170. P. J. Morrison, E. Tassi, and N. Tronko, "Stability of Compressible Reduced Magnetohydrodynamic Equilibria – Analogy with Magnetorotational Instability,”Physics of Plasmas 20, 042109 (10pp) (2013).
169. Y. Cheng, I. M. Gamba, F. Li, and P. J. Morrison, "Discontinuous Galerkin Methods for the Vlasov-Maxwell Equations,” submitted (2013).
168. M. Hirota, P. J. Morrison, Y. Ishii, M. Yagi, and N. Aiba, "Nonlinear Variational Method for Predicting Fast Collisionless Magnetic Reconnection,” Nuclear Fusion 20, 063024 (11pp) (2013).
167. F. Valentini, D. Perrone, F. Califano, F. Pegoraro, P. Veltri, P. J. Morrison, and T. M. O'Neil, "Response to Comments on 'Undamped Electrostatic Plasma Waves' [Phys. Plasmas 19, 092103 (2012)],” Physics of Plasmas 20, 034702 (4pp) (2013).
166. P. J. Morrison, M. Vittot, and L. de Guillebon, “Lifting Particle Coordinate Changes of Magnetic Moment Type to Vlasov-Maxwell Hamiltonian Dynamics,” Physics of Plasmas 20, 032109 (9pp) (2013).
165. P. J. Morrison, “A General Theory for Gauge-Free Lifting,” Physics of Plasmas 20, 012104 (14pp) (2013).
Awards
- 2013 Agostinelli International Prize, Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Rome, Italy
- 2013 College of Natural Sciences Teaching Excellence Award
- 2012 Honored by Special Issue of CNSNS 17 (5)
- 2011 Chair’s Fellow, Department of Physics, The University of Texas at Austin
- 2010 Dynamics Days South America, Plenary Talk, Brazil
- 2009 Props for Profs, Certificate of Appreciation for Physics 302L
- 2006 Dean’s Fellow, College of Natural Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin
- 1992 Fellow of the American Physical Society
- 1988 Dad’s Association Centennial Teaching Fellowship
- 1982 Natural Sciences Council Teaching Excellence Award