Harold K. Forsen

Harold K. Forsen (born September 19, 1932 in St. Joseph, Missouri) was an American nuclear physicist and member of the National Academy of Engineering, specializing in thermonuclear fusion and plasma physics. He was also an educator, industrial executive, and government advisor.

Forsen served in the Air Force from 1951 to 1955. After his tour of duty was finished, he enrolled in the California Institute of Technology and graduated with a B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering in 1959. He obtained his PhD in 1965 from the Electrical Engineering Department at UC Berkeley under the mentorship of Professor Alvin Trivelpiece. In 1965 he was hired into the Nuclear Engineering Department of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He became internationally known for his insight and academic work in the field of plasma physics. He helped to start Wisconsin's fusion technology program.

Before starting his PhD, he worked at the General Atomics Company in San Diego California in areas including nuclear fusion. Starting in 1973 he led a mostly classified program in the use of lasers to separate uranium-235 from uranium-238 for nuclear fission at the Exxon Nuclear Company. He was very active in the governance of the NAE, and after retirement served as the Foreign Secretary for 8 years (1995-2003). He was also elected as a foreign associate to the Japanese Engineering Academy.

Harold Forsen died on March 7, 2012, at the age of 79.

Personal life He married his high-school sweetheart Betty A. Webb in 1952.

After retiring in 1995, he lived in three different locations; Kirkland, Washington, North Lake Tahoe, California, and Indio, California.

He was survived by his wife of 60 years, Betty, and the rest of his family: John Forsen (Gayle), Ron Forsen (Debbie), Sandy Hartrick (Tom), six grandchildren, a sister-in-law and her children.