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James A. Phillips May 17, 1919 - Dec. 1, 1998 Jim Phillips was born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa, where his parents, Ray E. and Dora A. Phillips were American missionaries. He attended Carleton College in Minnesota and then graduate school at the University of Illinois, Urbana. While a graduate student, Jim worked at Oak Ridge Laboratory in 1944-45, and in 1948 he married Ginny. After completing a M.S. and Ph.D. in Nuclear Physics the family moved to Los Alamos, NM in 1949. Joining the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, Jim became one of the original five staff scientists in P-Division measuring the parameters relating to fusion of the light elements, deuterium, tritium, and helium. This pioneering team became the first group at Los Alamos to study harnessing the nuclear fusion energy of the hydrogen bomb for peaceful uses. Jim later headed a group to study experimentally the pinch approach to fusion energy. Under his leadership a working toroidal pinch was assembled and demonstrated in Geneva, Switzerland, for the first International Atoms for Peace Conference in 1958. In the decades that followed, many experiments were designed, constructed, and studied under his direction, resulting in much progress understanding the physics of fusion plasmas. He was a Fellow of both the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Physical Society, served as chairman of the Plasma Physics Division of the APS in 1967, and was Regional Secretary of the APS from 1970 to 1975. Between 1975 and 1979, Jim took a leave of absence from the Los Alamos Laboratory to assume a leadership position at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Austria, where he helped coordinate nuclear research programs in developing countries. Upon returning to Los Alamos, Jim was made a Laboratory Fellow and continued his work investigating the physics of the reverse-field pinch. After retiring in 1987, Jim held a Laboratory Associate appointment that enabled him to interact with magnetic fusion pinch research groups in Italy, Japan, Sweden, and the University of Wisconsin, and he continued to contribute new ideas, data analysis, physics interpretations, and published work in reverse-field pinch physics research until his death. Jim was devoted to his family. As the patriarch of the"Fearless Explorers", he instilled in his family a love of adventure, nature, and understanding of diverse cultures near and far. Continuing the tradition of travel by his family, in retirement he and Ginny traveled extensively, including voyages to China, Turkey, Tibet, the Caribbean for a solar eclipse, Korea, Norway, and a Himalayan trek. Jim was always curious and had the remarkable ability to talk with and learn from anyone he met. He is survived by wife, Marilyn V. (Ginny) Phillips; brother, John G. Phillips of Oakland, CA; nieces, Cindy Hart of Edmonds, WA, Mary Jane Phillips of El Cerrito, CA, Gail Phillips of Berkeley, CA; brother-in-law, Robert Trotter of Morgantown, WV; son, Raymond Phillips and wife, Martha of Belgrade, ME; granddaughter, Tina; daughter, Ann Matlack and husband, Bob of Hamburg, NY; granddaughter, Jennifer of Greensburo, NC; grandson, Adrian of Slippery Rock, PA; daughter, Kathryn Safstrom of San Jose, CA and husband, Roy of Edgewood, CO. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Children (155 Plan Way, Warwick, RI 02886-1099) or other children's support organization. Jim had a special concern for children. A Memorial service will be held Saturday, December 5, 11:00 a.m., at the United Church of Los Alamos. Arrangements are under the direction of Berardinelli Family Funeral Service, 1399 Luisa, Santa Fe, 984-8600.
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