Biography
Toshiki Tajima
Norman Rostoker Professor of Physics and Astronomy,
University of California, Irvine, CA 92610
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Professor Tajima is a theoretical physicist, working on accelerator physics, plasma physics, fusion, laser physics, astrophysics, and medical applications of physics. He has authored or edited 10 books (or monographs) and has written over 500 papers and some 30 patents. His paper on laser wakefield acceleration with Prof. John Dawson has the most cited plasma paper ever (according to some study). He has been involved in a number of theoretical and collaborative experimental projects springing out of its idea around the world. Wakefield acceleration (WFA) has now been experimentally verified and also compelling astrophysical evidence of WFA has been found in gamma ray bursts (in the latest observations gamma ray bursts were observed simultaneously (but slightly behind) gravitational waves, as his theory implied). Meanwhile its laboratory applications are multiplying. For example, it allows for the compact generation of high-energy electrons, ions, and X-rays on ultrafast (femto- to atto- and now zepto-second) time scales. Dr. Tajima further proposed WFA in nanoporous solid media that is capable of delivering TeV energies on a chip. He also discovered a mechanism in which the wakefield is responsible for highest cosmic rays (beyond 1020 eV). Alongside these developments, Professor Tajima also laid the foundation for and spearheaded the development of High Field Science. Recent applications of this new field include ultrafast radiolysis, compact cancer therapy (such as intraoperative radiation therapy and hadron therapy), as well as compact THz, X-ray, and gamma ray sources (including compact free electron lasers and betatron sources).
Professor Toshiki Tajima currently holds the Norman Rostoker Chair in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at UC Irvine, which aims to extend Professor Norman Rostoker’s legacy in plasma physics and applied physics. Tajima was Professor Rostoker’s first PhD student at UC Irvine. Between his stints at UC Irvine, he was The Jane and Roland Blumberg Professor in Physics at the University of Texas at Austin, where, among other projects, he started the first DoE-sponsored laser wakefield acceleration project (with Prof. Downer) in 1993. He also part of the team that first demonstrated the experimental Proof-of-Principle of LWFA in 1994,1995. He subsequently served as Director-General of the Kansai Photon Science Institute of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency as well as Chair Professor at Ludwig Maximilian University.
He continues to act in a leadership role in the further development of this field worldwide. For example, he was instrumental in ushering in the EU’s Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) as its Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Committee in 2008. He has been serving as Chairman of Extreme Light Infrastructure-Nuclear Physics (ELI-NP) International Science Advisory Board, Chair of the International Committee for Ultrahigh Intensity Lasers (ICUIL, 2008-2016), Deputy Director of the International Center for Zetta- and Exawatt Science and Technology (IZEST) based at École Polytechnique, and a Permanent Member of Visiting Committee of Centre Energie Atomique of France. Currently, Prof. Tajima also serves as Chief Science Officer of Tri Alpha Energy, a private company that aims to develop and commercialize fusion energy technology. He is entering to serve as Chair of American Physical Society GPAP(Plasma Astrophysics).
He has been awarded the S. Chandrasekhar Prize, the Enrico Fermi Prize, the Nishina Memorial Prize, the Blaise Pascal Chair award (France), and the Einstein Professorship (Chinese Academy of Sciences), Academician of Russian Academy of Sciences (foreign member), Fellow of American Physical Society, among other honors.