NEWS: Plasma science

March 28, 2023

Exploring the bow shock and beyond

Rishabh Datta’s main focus is, “Can we create this high energy plasma that is moving supersonically in a laboratory, and can we study it? And can we learn things that are hard to diagnose in an astrophysical plasma?”

PSFC News

March 27, 2023

Engaging young women in plasma science

The PSFC journeyed to the Young Women's Conferemce at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory to inspire young women to consider science as a field of study and a career.

PSFC News

March 2, 2023

Francesco Sciortino receives Piovesan Study Award

Recent MIT graduate Francesco Sciortino (MIT PhD’21) has been honored with the 2022 Piovesan Award for the best PhD thesis in "physics of controlled fusion." 

PSFC News

December 19, 2022

MIT scientists contribute to the success of National Ignition Facility fusion milestone

On that morning of December 5, for the first time ever, the lasers delivered 2.1. megajoules of energy and yielded 3.15 megajoules in return, achieving an historic fusion energy gain well above 1—a result verified by diagnostic tools developed by the MIT PSFC.

PSFC News

September 29, 2022

PSFC researchers honored with John Dawson Award

Three members of the PSFC High-Energy-Density Physics (HEDP) Division have been honored with the APS John Dawson Award for Excellence in Plasma Physics Research: Maria Gatu Johnson, Richard Petrasso and Johan Frenje.

PSFC News

September 26, 2022

Finding community in high-energy-density physics

As part of the PSFC's High-Energy-Density Physics Division, graduate student Skylar Dannhoff is discovering the collaborative world of fusion research.

Plasma Science and Fusion Center

September 21, 2022

Plasma Science and Fusion Center hosts third annual Computational Physics School for Fusion Research

“This year we could feel a palpable excitement about being back in the classroom, without virtual borders between the lecturers and the participants of the programs,” says Cristina Rea.

PSFC News

August 24, 2022

MIT students contribute to the success of historic fusion experiment

MIT has contributed to the success of the ignition program at the National Ignition Facilty for more than a decade by providing and using a dozen diagnostics, implemented by MIT PhD students and staff, which have been critical for assessing the performance of an implosion, like the one pictured.  

PSFC News

August 8, 2022

Zach Hartwig to receive 2022 FPA Excellence in Fusion Engineering Award

MIT Robert N. Noyce Career Development Professor, Zach Hartwig

PSFC News

July 8, 2022

Fusion’s new ambassador

High school student Tuba Balta engages new audiences through her MIT PSFC internship.

PSFC News

June 2, 2022

PSFC to explore geothermal stimulation technology

PSFC has received ARPA-E funding to participate in the development of next generation geothermal stimulation technology.

Plasma Science and Fusion Center

May 6, 2022

MIT expands research collaboration with Commonwealth Fusion Systems to build net energy fusion machine, SPARC

New five-year agreement will support SPARC science, increase graduate students and post-docs, and support interdisciplinary work towards fusion power plants

PSFC News

April 6, 2022

Machine learning, harnessed to extreme computing, aids fusion energy development

MIT research scientists Pablo Rodriguez-Fernandez and Nathan Howard predict the temperature and density profiles of a magnetically confined plasma via first-principles simulation of plasma turbulence.

PSFC News

February 22, 2022

John Rice on Plasma Rotation

John Rice's new book "Driven Rotation, Self-Generated Flow, and Momentum Transport" consolidates an understanding of the topic gained from years of experience at MIT.

PSFC News

February 10, 2022

Gatu Johnson and Frenje receive NNSA Secretary’s Honor Award

PSFC's Maria Gatu Johnson and Johan Frenje were part of a team who won the NNSA Secretary's Honor Award for the achievement of a Burning Plasma at the National Ignition Facility.

PSFC News

January 18, 2022

Mapping the depths of plasma physics

In his new lab where he will study how plasma behaves in the universe, assistant professor of nuclear science and engineering Jack Hare draws inspiration from spelunking.

NSE News

November 8, 2021

Anne White: Then and Now / 2011 Early Career Award Winner

SoE Distinguished Professor of Engineering Anne White answers the question "What did the 2011 Department of Energy Early Career Award allow you to do?"

Department of Energy Office of Science

August 9, 2021

New leadership for PSFC High-Energy-Density Physics division

After 45 years at MIT’s PSFC and 15 years heading their High-Energy-Density Physics (HEDP) Division, Senior Research Scientist Richard Petrasso has stepped down to pursue new research interests.

PSFC News

June 7, 2021

Revisiting a quantum past for a fusion future

Principal Research Scientist Abhay Ram is returning to a field he first embraced as a graduate student at MIT 50 years ago: quantum mechanics.

PSFC News

April 12, 2021

On course to create a fusion power plant

Since taking on course 22.63 (Principles of Fusion Engineering) over a decade ago Prof. Dennis Whyte has moved away from standard lectures, prodding the class to work collectively on  “real world” issues. The course has been instrumental in guiding the real future of fusion at the PSFC.

PSFC News

December 21, 2020

Storm in a cosmic teacup: Discovering a new paradigm for understanding plasma turbulence

On the path to writing his PhD dissertation Lucio Milanese made a discovery - one that refocused his research and will now likely dominate his thesis.

PSFC

December 18, 2020

Three Questions: Francesco Sciortino on his HTPD invited talk

PhD candidate Francesco Sciortino works at the PSFC on plasma turbulence in tokamaks, with an emphasis on computational statistics and machine learning methods.

PSFC

December 2, 2020

Pablo Rodriguez-Fernandez — Forbes 30 Under 30 in Science

PSFC postdoctoral associate Pablo Rodriguez-Fernandez (MIT PhD’19) has been named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in the Science sector for 2021.

PSFC

September 29, 2020

Validating the physics behind SPARC

This series of papers provides a high level of confidence in the plasma physics and the performance predictions for SPARC. No unexpected impediments or surprises have shown up, and the remaining challenges appear to be manageable. This sets a solid basis for the device’s operation once constructed, according to Martin Greenwald, Deputy Director of MIT PSFC.

MIT News

September 28, 2020

Using machine learning to control plasma stability in fusion experiments

PSFC principal research scientist John Wright will lead an exploration of how machine learning can accelerate radio frequency modeling for current drive prediction in tokamaks.

PSFC