Edison P. Liang

Edison P. Liang is the Andrew Hays Buchanan Professor of Astrophysics at Rice University, where he has served since 1991. Previously, he held positions at Stanford University, Michigan State University, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), where he led research groups in plasma physics and astrophysics. His research focuses on relativistic plasma physics, high-energy density physics, laser-plasma interactions, and high-energy astrophysical phenomena. He earned his BA (1967) and PhD (1971) in Physics from UC Berkeley, supported by the UC Science Fellowship and Anthony Scholarship.

Key professional milestones include:

• Recipient of the British SRC Senior Visiting Scientist Fellowship (1974)
• Co-founder of the High Energy Density Laboratory Astrophysics (HEDLA) conference series
• Contributor to major NAS and SAUUL reports on High Energy Density Physics
• Organized over a dozen international astrophysics conferences

Current research emphasizes computational modeling of relativistic plasmas, laboratory astrophysics, and antimatter creation using intense lasers. His group collaborates on both theoretical and experimental projects, with active involvement in HEDP applications to fusion, gamma-ray generation, and medical physics. Recent studies include relativistic jet dynamics, magnetic reconnection mechanisms, and shock-driven particle acceleration processes.

Awarded over 300 peer-reviewed publications and conference proceedings, Liang is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and holds honorary memberships in Sigma Xi and Phi Beta Kappa. His group advises current graduate students Kyle Perez and Brandon Cage, with notable alumni including Guy Hilburn and Yingchao Lu. Research infrastructure includes advanced computational simulations and collaborations with national labs like LLNL.