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Dr. Robert Tokar

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Senior Scientist

Currently resides in NM
rltokar [at] psi.edu
Areas of Expertise
Targets: Earth, Gas giants, Icy satellites, Interplanetary Dust, Io, Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, Solar particles/Solar wind
Disciplines/Techniques: Space-based observing, Spectroscopy, Remote sensing, Numerical modeling, Neutron detectors, Magnetospherics
Missions: Cassini, Mars Odyssey, MSL, Voyager
Instruments: Gamma-ray detectors, Mass spectrometers, Neutron detectors, Plasma spectrometers

Research Interests

Dr. Bob Tokar’s studies span from the surface of Mars to the magnetosphere of Saturn. He has been engaged in the laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy of rocks on Mars, and has been involved with data analysis from Chemcam on the Mars rover. In addition he has studied ion compositions in Saturn’s magnetosphere and examining the plasma flow in Saturn’s night-side magnetosphere.

Professional History

Dr. Tokar received his PhD in Physics in 1983 from the University of Iowa. He joined Los Alamos National Laboratory in 1984 and worked there until 2012 at which time he joined the permanent science staff of PSI. Tokar has been involved in pioneering work involving laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy data analysis and quantification. He has engaged in working with plasma analyzers and spectrometers (both ion and electron), analyzing and modeling data from these instruments. His work has included plasma fluid and particle simulation, linear plasma instabilities data interpretation, plasma wave and particle interaction theory, neutron spectrometer data analysis and modeling, MCNPX simulation, and free electron laser data analysis and simulation. Dr. Tokar has been involved in automotive adaptive control system design and automotive high DOF simulation. He has also worked on synthetic aperture radar simulations. He is the Project Leader for the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer and is Co-Investigator of the MSL ChemCam.

Honors and Awards

1980, The James A. Van Allen Award in Space Physics

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