Kevin B. Quest


Office: 2404 Engineering Building Unit 1

Mailing Address:
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
9500 Gilman Drive, Mail Code 0407
University of California, San Diego
La Jolla, CA 92093-0407

Email: quest@ece.ucsd.edu
Phone: (858) 534-4676
Fax: (858) 534-2486

Ph.D. University of California, Los Angeles, 1981

Space Science
Dr. Quest joined the laser fusion group at the Los Alamos National Laboratory as a staff member after completing his Ph.D. In 1988 he became an Associate Professor in the ECE department at UC San Diego. He is an authority on the subjects of collisionless shock structure, magnetic reconnection, and plasma waves and instabilities.

Research Interests

Theoretical space plasma physics and numerical methods, the development and use of large scale numerical simulation codes that assist in the study of the complex nonlinear behavior of space plasmas.


Honors and Distinctions
  • Fellow, American Geophysical Union (AGU)
  • Awarded AGU's James B. Macelwane Medal, 1988

    Selected Publications

    Shapiro, V. D., K. B. Quest, M. Okolicsanyi, "Non-resonant firehose instability: Consequences for the theory of cosmic ray acceleration," Geophysical Research Letters, Vol 25, pp 845-848, 1998.

    Brittnacher, M.; K. B. Quest, H. Karimabadi, "A study of the effect of pitch angle and spatial diffusion on tearing instability using a new finite element based linear code ," Journal of Geophysical Research-Space Physics, Vol. 103, pp. 4587-4596, 1998.

    Quest, K. B., V. D. Shapiro, K. Szego, Z. Dobe, "Microphysics of the Venusian and Martian mantles," Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 24, pp. 301-304, 1997.

    Quest K. B., V. D. and V. D. Shapiro, "Evolution of the Fire-Hose Instability - Linear Theory and Wave-Wave Coupling," Journal of Geophysical Research-Space Physics, Vol. 101, pp. 24457-24469, 1996.

    Last Updated: 5/3/97