John Allen

John Edward Allen (6 December 1928 – 19 August 2026), was a British engineer and plasma physicist. In particular, he directly contributed to international dusty plasma experiments in space under microgravity conditions.

Education Allen gained Bachelor of Engineering (1949), Doctor of Philosophy (1953), and Doctor of Engineering (1963) degrees from the University of Liverpool. His research included experiments with high-current spark discharges involving currents up to 265kA, the highest in any laboratory at the time. He also gained a Master of Arts degree (1964) at the University of Cambridge, and Master of Arts (1965) and Doctor of Science (1975) degrees at the University of Oxford. He was a Reader (1990–1996) and then Emeritus Professor of Engineering Science from 1996 in the Department of Engineering Science at Oxford, when he became an Emeritus Fellow of University College. In 1991, he was editor of the book Gas Discharge Physics with the theoretical physicist Yuri Raizer. He had also been a Visiting Professor in Physics at Imperial College London. He was also awarded the Distinguished Scientist Award by the International Topical Conference on Plasma Science.