BIOGRAPHY OF RADU BALESCU

BIOGRAPHY OF RADU BALESCU
( 1932 - 2006 )

born July 18, 1932, Bucharest, Romania.
died June 01, 2006, Bucharest, Romania.

RADU BALESCU (Bucharest, Romania, 18 July 1932 – 1 June 2006) was a Romanian and Belgian (Belgian since 1959) scientist and professor at the Statistical and Plasma Physics group of the Universite' Libre de Bruxelles (ULB).
He studied at the Titu Maiorescu high school, in Bucharest (1943 – 1948) and the Athene'e Royal d'Ixelles (1948 – 1950). At the Universite' Libre de Bruxelles(1950 – 1958) he studied chemistry and obtained a PhD in 1958. He started his academic career in 1957 at the Universite' Libre de Bruxelles as an assistant (with Prof. Ilya Prigogine) at the Service de Physique Theorique et Mathematique. He became a professor at the ULB in 1964.
He worked on the statistical physics of charged particles (Balescu-Lenard collision operator;
see: Mynick H. E., The generalized Balescu-Lenard collision operator, Journal of plasma physics, 1988, vol. 39, no.2, pp. 303 – 317) and on the theory of transport of magnetically confined plasmas.
In 1970 he was awarded the Francqui Prize on Exact Sciences.
Professor RADU BALESCU passed away June 1 2006 during a trip to Romania at the age of 73 years.
Professor at the Universite' Libre de Bruxelles, Member of the Royal Academy of Science, Humanities and Fine Arts of Belgium, Honorary Member of the Romanian Academy, Radu Balescu was very early recognized internationally as a leader in the development of the Statistical Physics of charged particles (the well-known Balescu-Lenard collision operator) and of the theory of transport of magnetically confined plasmas.
He was awarded the first Hannes Alfven Prize of the Plasma Physics Division of the European Physical Society in 2000. Radu Balescu was involved in the European fusion programme for more than 30 years as a scientist and as the head of research unit of the ULB group in the Euratom-Belgian state Association. Radu Balescu was not only a recognized scientist but also a highly regarded teacher.
Throughout his career he spread his love of physics amongst his students with brilliance and enthusiasm. We will also all remember Radu Balescu as a true and respected humanist. He was constantly guided by exceptional honesty and integrity in his scientific career, in the management of his group and in his relationship with colleagues.
Professor RADU BALESCU published well known monographs:

1. STATISTICAL MECHANICS OF CHARGED PARTICLES,
465 pp., Interscience Publishers, New York, 1963

2. STATISTICHESKAYA MEKHANIKA ZARIAJENYKH CHASTITS,
514 pp.: Translation of ref. 1 par A.A. Rukhadze, foreword by V.P. Silin,
Isdatelstvo MIR, Moscou, 1967

3. EQUILIBRIUM AND NONEQUILIBRIUM STATISTICAL MECHANICS
742 pp., John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1975
Reprint: Krieger Publ. Co., Melbourne, Florida, 1991

4. RAVNOVESNAYA I NERAVNOVESNAYA STATISTICHESKAYA MEKHANIKA
2 volumes (405 + 400 pp.):
Translation of ref.3 under the direction of D.I. Zubarev et Yu. L. Klimontovich,
Isdatelstvo MIR, Moscou, 1978

5. TRANSPORT PROCESSES IN PLASMAS
2 volumes, 803 pp., North Holland Publ., Amsterdam, 1988:
Vol. 1: CLASSICAL TRANSPORT
Vol. 2: NEOCLASSICAL TRANSPORT

6. TRANSPORT PROCESSES IN PLASMAS
Chinese translation of ref. 5 under the direction of Xu Xishen, Chen Yashen et Lu Qiankong,
Ed. Capital Normal University, Beijing
Vol. 1: Classical Transport (323 + XLIV pp.), 1995
Vol. 2: Neoclassical Transport, 1996

7. STATISTICAL DYNAMICS: MATTER OUT OF EQUILIBRIUM
330 pp., Imperial College Press, London, 1997

TRANSLATION:
KINETIC THEORY OF NONIDEAL GASES AND NONIDEAL PLASMAS,
Yu.L. Klimontovich, Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1982
(translation and revision of : Kineticheskaia Teoria neidealnogo gaza i neidealnoi plazmy)

Full BIBLIOGRAPHY of RADU BALESCU includes 6 books and about 200 papers.

LIST OF BOOKS is available at the AMAZON.COM

There are a few places where the biography of RADU BALESCU can be found.

Wikipedia electronic Encyclopedia(http://nl.wikipedia.org/) , an article RADU BALESCU .

Obituary note RADU BALESCU, of the Universite' Libre de Bruxelles.

A. L. Kuzemsky ©, 2006.

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BIOGRAPHY OF RADU BALESCU ( 1932 - 2006 )

BIOGRAPHY OF RADU BALESCU
( 1932 - 2006 )