Nicholas Murphy
Graduate Student in Astronomy
6511 Sterling Hall
University of Wisconsin-Madison
I am a fifth year graduate student in Astronomy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison under the supervision of Carl Sovinec (Engineering Physics) and Ellen Zweibel (Astronomy) and supported by the Center for Magnetic Self-Organization in Laboratory and Astrophysical Plasmas. My thesis research involves simulating astrophysically relevant laboratory plasmas (e.g., the Magnetic Reconnection Experiment) using the NIMROD extended MHD code to gauge the impact of global effects on the process of magnetic reconnection. Additionally, I am simulating MHD instabilities in the polar caps of accreting neutron stars to determine whether the accreting plasma will bypass or bury the magnetic field. My general research interests include astrophysical plasmas, magnetic reconnection, numerical methods, and bridging the divide between laboratory and astrophysical plasma physics.
murphy@astro.wisc.edu