John Paul Verboncoeur

John Paul Verboncoeur is an American electrical engineer and computational plasma physicist. He is a professor of electrical and computer engineering and of computational mathematics, science, and engineering at Michigan State University, where he also serves as senior associate dean for research and graduate studies in the College of Engineering. He was elected a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in 2013 for contributions to computational plasma physics and plasma device applications.

Verboncoeur is the author and coauthor of the MSU (formerly Berkeley) suite of particle-in-cell Monte Carlo (PIC-MC) plasma simulation codes, including XPDP1 and XOOPIC, which have been used by more than 1,000 researchers worldwide. He has served in senior leadership roles within the IEEE, including as president of the IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society (2015–2016), IEEE Division IV director (2019–2020), and vice president of IEEE Technical Activities (2023).

Education and early career Verboncoeur received a Bachelor of Science with high honours in engineering science from the University of Florida in 1986. He received a Master of Science in 1987 and a PhD in 1992, both in nuclear engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, as a recipient of the U.S. Department of Energy Magnetic Fusion Energy Technology Fellowship. He was appointed associate dean for research and graduate studies in the College of Engineering in 2014, later becoming senior associate dean.

At MSU, Verboncoeur leads the Plasma Theory and Simulation Group, which develops theoretical and computational tools for plasma physics. His research interests span computational plasma physics, electromagnetics, beam physics, high-field effects such as multipactor and breakdown, laser–plasma interactions, and numerical methods. Applications of his work include microwave-beam devices, particle accelerators, fusion energy, plasma thrusters, and plasma processing. These freely distributed codes have been used in more than 450 journal publications by researchers worldwide. IEEE Division IV Director (2019–2020) 2022 – IEEE NPSS Charles K. Birdsall Award, "for pioneering leadership in computational plasma science research, education, student mentoring, curriculum innovation, supportive professional community leadership, and helping to define the field of computational plasma physics"

Selected publications