Reiner Ludwig Stenzel

Professor Reiner Ludwig Stenzel passed away in his home in San Mateo, California, in early December, 2023, at the age of 84.

Professor Stenzel was born in Breslau, Germany (now Wrocław, Poland), and received an Abitur from the Gymnasium am Barkhof, Bremen, Germany, in 1959. He attended the California Institute of Technology  where he served as Graduate Research Assistant and was advised by Prof. Roy W. Gould. He was granted an M.S. in 1966 and a PhD in Applied Science in 1970. He joined UCLA full time as an Associate Professor in 1977, and advanced to Professor in 1981, a position he held until retirement in 2011.

Reiner was a pioneer in experimental physics and is recognized as one of the best plasma experimentalists of his generation with 226 publications and countless conference presentations. Starting in the early 70’s and extending for about one and a half decades, he embarked upon a number of seminal experiments on plasma waves and novel ways to measure them.

Reiner was an avid lover of nature and shared his passion with his son as members of local Boy Scout Troop 85, joining in 1982 and helping lead hundreds of hikes and camping trips until the late 1990s, even becoming its Scout Master. At the age of 73, he hiked the entirety of the Pacific Crest Trail over two seasons.

He will be missed by surviving family, friends, and the worldwide plasma community. Reiner’s family would like to further the study of physics and enjoyment of the outdoors with donations to the following organizations: Caltech Physics Program & Sierra Club Los Angeles programs.