Kevin Felch

Kevin Felch was born in Denver, CO, on December 7, 1952. He received the A.B. degree in physics from Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO in 1975, and the Ph.D. degree in physics from Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, in 1980. His graduate work involved the design and construction of a 400-kV 30-A electron-beam system and the use of dielectric-loaded waveguides in combination with the electron beam for the generation of millimeter-wave Cherenkov radiation.

During 1980, he held a postdoctoral position at the Ecole Polytechnique in Palaiseau, France. His work there involved the design, construction, and operation of a free-electron laser experiment.

He joined Varian Associates, Inc. (now Communications and Power Industries), in 1981 as a member of the Gyrotron Engineering Department. Since 1996 he has served as the Engineering Manager for the Gyrotron Engineering Department at Communications and Power Industries (CPI). His work at CPI has involved the development of high-power gyrotron oscillators and amplifiers. Recent applications for the gyrotrons designed and produced by CPI include magnetic fusion research, active-denial non-lethal weapons, high-resolution radar and dynamic nuclear polarization for nuclear magnetic resonance.

Dr. Felch is a member of the Plasma Physics Division of the American Physical Society and the Plasma Science Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. He is an author on over 100 scientific papers and conference proceedings. In 1985, he served as guest editor for a special topics issue of IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science.

John R. Pierce Award for Excellence in Vacuum Electronics 2015

For pioneering research and leadership in the development of gyrotrons for fusion energy sciences and national defense.

kevin.felch@cpii.com