Biographical Information

Gerald I. Kerley

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Overview

Gerald Kerley received a B.S. degree in chemistry (Ohio University, 1963) and a Ph.D. degree in chemical physics (University of Illinois, 1966). He served as a U.S. army officer, assigned to the Defense Atomic Support Agency, from 1967 to 1969. He was a technical staff member at both Los Alamos National Laboratory (1969-1984) and Sandia National Laboratories (1984-1995). From 1995 to 2005, he worked as a scientific and technical consultant, serving DOE and DOD laboratories and contractors. In 2006, Kerley retired from consulting work to study scientific problems of personal interest.

Kerley has extensive experience in applying the methods of quantum mechanics, statistical mechanics, and thermodynamics to problems of practical interest. Most of his professional career has been devoted to modeling equations of state (EOS), explosive behavior, and other material properties for use in hydrocodes, and to using these models in numerical simulations of hydrodynamic and shock-wave phenomena. His accomplishments include the following:

• He is the author of the PANDA code, which offers sophisticated theoretical models for constructing EOS for all types of materials over a broad range of conditions.

• From 1976 to 1978, he was responsible for development of the SESAME library at Los Alamos, a database of EOS tables specifically designed for use in computer codes.

• In 1991, he developed a general EOS package that was installed in the Sandia 3-D Eulerian code, CTH.

• He developed the HVRB model, which describes the shock initiation and detonation of explosives.

• During his ten years as a consultant, he taught seven short courses in EOS modeling techniques for hydrodynamic calculations.