Amy Keesee, Ph.D.

Contact

Research Assistant Professor
President, West Virginia Chapter of the Association for Women in Science

Department of Physics
White Hall 339

West Virginia University
Morgantown, WV 26506

Phone: 304-293-5113

E-mail: amy.keesee@mail.wvu.edu

Vitae

Visit the Plasma Physics Page

Visit the Plasma Physics Blog

Research

For my dissertation research, I studied the amount of ionization in a helicon plasma source by measuring the radial neutral argon profile in a helicon plasma source using laser-induced fluorescence, passive emission spectroscopy, and collisional-radiative modeling. Currently, I primarily study the plasma physics of the magnetosphere. I am very involved with supporting women in science and outreach to future scientists through organizations such as the Association for Women in Science.

Education

B.S. in Mathematics from Davidson College, M.S. in physics and Ph.D. in plasma physics from West Virginia University.

WiSE Women

The WiSE Giving Circle brings together West Virginia University alumnae and friends who want to impact the field of science by encouraging and mentoring young women in their pursuit of professional careers within the STEM disciplines – science, technology, engineering, and math.

Life and Death of Comets

With more awareness of comets and asteroids coming close to the Earth and even entering our atmosphere, it is crucial that we understand the life and death of these celestial bodies. Harvard-Smithsonian Professor John Raymond describes the way Sun-grazing comets come to an end. In particular, he gives us an account of the death of the Lovejoy comet that took place in December 2011 and how it was used to better understand the Sun’s corona.

New Research Award to Fund Doctoral Students

Mohindar Seehra, Ph.D. has created the Dr. Mohindar S. Seehra Research Award. The goal of this annual award will be to recognize a doctoral student who is advancing research in physics in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences by publishing his/her research in high-quality peer-reviewed physics journals. All physics doctoral candidates are eligible for consideration for the award.