Dr. Isay L. Krainsky is a senior research scientist at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field in Cleveland, Ohio. While at NASA, he has been involved in studies of electronic structure, work function, electronic and thermionic emission of model cathodes and cathode materials using various surface-sensitive techniques such as auger spectroscopy, and direct and inverse angular resolved photoelectron spectroscopy. He has performed studies of secondary electron emission properties of various materials for the purpose of electron suppression or amplification; of angular distributions of secondary electrons for the purpose of improving the performance of traveling wave tubes; of electronic properties of materials with negative electron affinity; and of thermionic and field emission properties of carbon nanotubes.

Dr. Krainsky earned his master’s degree in physics and electronics from the Leningrad Polytechnic Institute, Leningrad, U.S.S.R., in 1968. He completed all the requirements for his doctoral degree in physics from the Leningrad Pedagogic Institute in 1976. He received his Ph.D. in physics from the Case Western Reserve University in 1981. Dr. Krainsky has authored over 60 publications in refereed journals and given over 50 presentations at various conferences. He came to NASA Glenn Research Center in 1984.