Kevin Ronald

Dr Kevin Ronald has a background in experimental and numerical investigations of plasma and free electron physics. He undertook time resolved measurements of the optical emissions from a plasma-flare cathode correlated with measurements of the electrical and microwave behaviour of the microwave source in which it was installed. He undertook measurements of complex non-stationary dynamics in fast wave oscillators. He led the construction of a linear plasma device to study beam-plasma instabilities and scaled simulations and experiments to study kinetic instabilities in plasma as the source of auroral kilometric radiation. In addition to his role as a Co-I in the TDoTP project, he is the PI for a new EPSRC-funded plasma experiment being built at Strathclyde ‘Parametric Wave Coupling and Non-Linear Mixing in Plasma’, in which the nonlinear interaction between EM waves in the microwave range and plasma will be studied experimentally. He is involved in the MICE (Muon Ionisation Cooling Experiment) project, a collaboration between several UK and international laboratories and universities to open routes to high energy muon accelerators. In addition, Dr Ronald is leading a project collaborating with UK industry and government labs sponsored by the European Space Agency on next generation communication amplifiers. He serves on the Tokamak Council and the ADS High Power RF Forum’s executive committee. The former links University research to the team at CCFE, the latter links academic and industrial researchers on high power microwave and RF sources and amplifiers. He has strong industrial engagement with leading high power microwave source manufacturers, including Teledyne e2v (UK) Ltd and TMD Technologies Ltd.