Richard J. Temkin is a plasma physicist and researcher on plasma-heating gyrotrons and other electromagnetic devices involving high-powered microwaves or terahertz radiation. He is also the division head for the PSFC's Waves and Beams Division. Awards received include the IEEE Plasma Science and Applications Award (2013); Exceptional Service Award of the International Society of Infrared, Millimeter, and Terahertz Waves (2011); the Robert L. Woods Award of the U. S. Department of Defense for Vacuum Electronics, the Certificate of Recognition from the IEEE Electron Device Society, and the Kenneth J. Button Prize and Medal from the Institute of Physics. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, IEEE, and the Institute of Physics.