Rate My Professor John Goree

John A. Goree is a Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at The University of Iowa, specializing in plasma physics. He joined the University of Iowa in 1985 and has been a full Professor since 1996. Goree earned his Ph.D. in Plasma Physics from Princeton University in 1985, an M.A. in Plasma Physics from Princeton University in 1982, and a B.S. in Applied Physics from the California Institute of Technology in 1980. His research focuses on experimental plasma physics, particularly dusty plasmas and strongly coupled plasmas. This includes laboratory experiments modeling complex plasma behavior and microgravity experiments on the International Space Station using the PK-4 device. Goree's group investigates phenomena such as dust charging, lofting, shear motion, Coulomb expansion, and compressibility in dusty plasmas, with applications to semiconductor manufacturing, astrophysics, and space environments.

Goree has secured funding from the National Science Foundation, including a $405,000 grant awarded in 2025 to study dust contamination mitigation in semiconductor manufacturing processes as part of the Emerging Frontiers in Plasma Science and Engineering program. He serves as an Associate Editor for Physical Review E, published by the American Physical Society. His scholarly impact is significant, with over 17,899 citations and an h-index of 68 on Google Scholar as of February 2024. Notable publications include 'Laser-excited Mach cones in a dusty plasma crystal' (Physical Review E, 2000), 'Coulomb expansion of a thin dust cloud observed experimentally' (Physics of Plasmas, 2022), and 'Time-Dependent Shear Motion in a Strongly Coupled Dusty Plasma in PK-4 on the International Space Station' (IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science, 2023). Goree has mentored students and researchers who have presented seminars and won awards, such as the L.B. Sims Outstanding Master's Thesis Award at the University of Iowa. His contributions have influenced the field of low-temperature plasma physics, including non-equilibrium statistical mechanics tests using dusty plasmas.