Willard Harrison Bennett

Willard Harrison Bennett (June 13, 1903 – September 28, 1987) was an American scientist and inventor, born in Findlay, Ohio. Bennett conducted research into plasma physics, astrophysics, geophysics, surface physics, and physical chemistry. The Bennett pinch is named after him.

Biography Born in Findlay, Ohio, Bennett attended Carnegie Institute of Technology from 1920 to 1922 and Ohio State University; the University of Wisconsin, Sc.M. in physical chemistry, 1926; and the University of Michigan, Ph.D. in physics, 1928.

Invention impact These studies and later research have been used throughout the world in controlled thermonuclear fusion research. In the 1950s, Bennett's experimental tube called the Stormertron predicted and modeled the Van Allen radiation belts surrounding the Earth six years before they were discovered by satellite. It also reproduced intricate impact patterns found on the Earth's surface which explained many features of the polar aurora. Sputnik 3 carried the first radio frequency mass spectrometer into space.