Rate My Professor Paul Cassak

Paul Cassak is Provost's Distinguished Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Clemson University, a position he assumed in 2025. Prior to joining Clemson, he served as a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at West Virginia University from 2008, where he advanced from assistant to full professor and held the role of associate director of the Center for KINETIC Plasma Physics. His academic journey began with a B.S. in Mathematics and Physics from the University of Arizona in 1998, followed by an M.S. in Physics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2001, and a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Maryland, College Park, in 2006. Following his doctorate, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Delaware. Cassak's research specializes in theoretical and computational space plasma physics, with a focus on magnetic reconnection and kinetic theory. His work has significantly advanced understanding of plasma processes relevant to space weather, astrophysics, and fusion energy.

Cassak has received numerous accolades for his contributions, including the Institute of Physics Rutherford Plasma Physics Communication Prize in 2024, Fellowship in the American Physical Society in 2018, the American Geophysical Union Fred L. Scarf Award in 2008, and the Benedum Distinguished Scholar in Physical Sciences and Technology at West Virginia University for 2017-2018. He is recognized for influential publications such as 'A review of the 0.1 reconnection rate problem' in the Journal of Plasma Physics (2017), 'First-principles theory of the rate of magnetic reconnection in magnetospheric and solar plasmas' in Communications Physics (2022), and 'Why does steady-state magnetic reconnection have a maximum local rate of order 0.1?' His research has garnered over 9,000 citations, with an h-index of 54. Cassak has delivered distinguished lectures, including the Provost Distinguished Lecture at Clemson University in 2024, and served on committees such as the American Geophysical Union Position Statement Committee. His scholarship impacts the field through editorial contributions and leadership in plasma physics research initiatives.