Prof. Shmuel Goldsmith - CV

Prof. Samuel Goldsmith received his M.Sc. in Physics in 1964 and his Ph.D. in 1968, both from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He began his career in the field of plasma spectroscopy — studying spectroscopically the positive column instability in strong magnetic fields.  From 1968 to 1969 he was a senior research associate at the Laboratory for Extreme UV Spectroscopy at the Hebrew University, studying the spectra of highly ionized atoms produced by intense vacuum sparks.

From 1969 Goldsmith was a member of the faculty of Tel Aviv University.  Between 1970 and 1973 he was involved in the establishment of the Wise Astronomical Observatory, and worked in Israel and in the US on spectra emitted by quasars and black objects.  After the 1973 war, when he was mobilized for military service for 9 months, he took sabbatical leave at the University of California at Berkeley, constructing and operating a high-current vacuum arc source for high-Z ion spectroscopy.  In 1975 Goldsmith together with Prof. R. L. Boxman established the Electrical Discharge and Plasma Laboratory (EDPL) at Tel Aviv University.  Prof. Goldsmith’s research at EDPL centered on the physics of low current arcs (<2000 A) and their industrial application.  From 1976 to 1979, following a request from the commander of the Israeli Air Force, he took a leave of absence from Tel Aviv University to work in the Israel Air Force on research and development programs.

Since 1983 the main activity of EDPL has been the development of efficient plasma sources for metal and ceramic coatings on a large variety of substrates. Vacuum arc deposition systems were developed which included magnetic filters for removing macroparticles. The coatings studied include TiN, SnO2, SnO2:Sb, metallic coatings on polymers, and amorphous Si (intrinsic, p-type, and n-type).  In 1984 Boxman, Goldsmith, and their colleagues were awarded the Joffe Foundation Award by the International Union of Surface Finishing for their breakthrough work on pulsed vacuum arc deposition.

From 1983 Goldsmith collaborated with Prof. H. R. Griem of the University of Maryland on the study of laser produced plasmas. They studied heat transfer in the dense plasmas produced by the 2000 J Omega Laser at the University of Rochester Laser Lab, and spectral line shift and broadening in extremely dense plasmas. Goldsmith was also a consultant for the Propulsion Physics Laboratory at the Soreq Research Center.  He served as Israel's delegate to the Plasma Committee of the International Union of Vacuum Sciences.

Prof. Goldsmith passed away after a short illness in July 2009.

Reuven L. Boxman

Tel Aviv University

Tel Aviv, Israel

Curriculum Vitae

PERSONAL: 

Date of Birth: November 20, 1935

Place of Birth: Damascus, Syria

ACADEMIC BACKGROUND: 

B.Sc., M.Sc., Hebrew University, Jerusalem – 1958-1963

Ph.D., Hebrew University, Jerusalem Ph.D. – 1964-68

Thesis: Spectroscopic Study of the Positive Column Instability in a Longitudinal Magnetic Field. 

EXPERIENCE: 

• Senior Scientist, Laboratory for Ultraviolet Spectroscopy, Hebrew University. 1968-1969
• Lecturer, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Tel-Aviv University. 1970-1976 
• Research Fellow, California Institute of Technology, California, USA. 1971 (Jan.-May)
• Visiting Scientist, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, California University, Berkeley USA. 1974-1975
• Senior Lecturer, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Tel-Aviv University. 1976-1988 
• Visiting Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Maryland. 1982-84 
• Associate Professor, School of Physics and Astronomy, Tel-Aviv University. 1983-1988 
• Professor, School of Physics and Astronomy, Tel Aviv University. 1988-2004
• Professor Emeritus, School of Physics and Astronomy, Tel Aviv University. 2004-2009 

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES: 

• Organizing Committee Chairman - Israeli Physical Society Annual Convention, 1980. 
• Organizing Committee Member and Proceedings Co-editor - XIIth International Symposium on Discharges and Electrical Insulation in Vacuum, 1986. 
• Israeli Representative to the International Division of the International Union for Vacuum Science, Techniques and Applications, Fusion Division. 
• Co-Director of the Electrical Discharges and Plasma Laboratory at Tel Aviv University 1976-2004. 

HONORS:

Boris and Renee Joffe Award, presented by the International Union for Electrodeposition and Surface Finishing for the best paper presented at the 11th World Congress on Metal Finishing (Interfinish '84), October, 1984.