Werner Dappen

Werner Däppen is a theorist who aims at using the Sun as a plasma physics laboratory. To pursue this goal, he participates on the one hand in state-of-the art solar modeling and the analysis of helioseismic data. On the other hand, helioseismology is the first accurate ``experiment'' that puts strong constraints on the thermodynamic quantities of the plasma of stellar interiors. Däppen has ongoing collaborations, supported by his NSF grant, with the leading groups that model the statistical mechanics of reacting Coulomb systems (Livermore, Lyon, Rostock/Greifswald). Däppen's own contribution to the field (the Mihalas-Hummer-Däppen equation of state) is currently being used by several international solar and stellar modeling groups.