Paul M. Bellan received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Manitoba in 1970. He continued graduate studies in physics at Princeton University, where he received a doctorate in 1976. The following year Bellan joined the Department of Applied Physics at the California Institute of Technology. Apart from simulating solar prominences, his research interests include mapping of the velocity of plasma ions with laser-induced fluorescence, the use of spheromaks for magnetic-confinement fusion and the study of Alfven waves in magnetized plasmas. Address: California Institute of Technology, Mail Code 128-95, Pasadena, CA 91125. Internet: pbellan@its.caltech.edu