Biography: Rod Boswell is a Professor at the Australian National University and head of the Space Plasma, Power and Propulsion group of the Plasma Research Laboratory. He is active in the fields of plasma processing of surfaces for microelectronics and optoelectronics, plasma thrusters, fuel cells as well as basic linear and nonlinear processes in plasmas. Over the past 15 years he has published over 100 papers in major international journals, been granted 7 patents, given about 50 invited lectures in international conferences and presented his group's work to many industrialists in many countries. He is interested in discovering interesting phenomena and using them in practical ways. His helicon reactor is well known as a fascinating research experiment and an effective processing tool in the microelectronics industry. In recent years he has become interested in applying electric double layers to astrophysical phenomena and to space propulsion. His group will be contributing to the hydrogen economy by deposition of nano-aggregates of catalysts and new proton conducting membranes. He is the co-inventor of the WEDGE virtual reality theatre, a number of which are now installed outside the university in museums etc. He is a keen skier and long board surfer and has been known to paddle a canoe down very long rivers.