Plasma

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

PhD candidate Lucio Milanese uncovers new fundamental mechanism in turbulence.

January 12, 2021

Thomas Dupree, professor emeritus of nuclear science and engineering and physics, dies at 86

Highly regarded physicist was well-known for studying plasma turbulence in terms of coherent structures.

February 28, 2020

At an IAP workshop in the new nuclear makerspace, "MIT Nucleus," participants created fusors, devices that use an electric field to accelerate ions to energies high enough to fuse nuclei, giving off a purple glow.

Fusor workshop inaugurates nuclear makerspace

Building devices to study fusion at the new (and highly controlled) “MIT Nucleus” makerspace generates enthusiasm — and a purple glow.

February 24, 2020

“Assuming I continue to graduate school, I think I would like to be involved in a research effort," says MIT junior Analyce Hernandez, "like the one I’m working on in dark matter, where I uncloak big mysteries and discover something fundamental about the way the universe works.”

Analyce Hernandez: Uncloaking big mysteries

Junior double major seeks to piece together puzzles of the universe, particle by particle.

February 12, 2020

Research Scientist Nathan Howard used data from MIT's Alcator C-Mod tokamak as the basis for an award-winning paper.

Nathan Howard wins Nuclear Fusion Award

Researcher unravels the mystery of heat loss in turbulent fusion plasmas.

January 29, 2020

“One of the reasons I came back to grad school was to be steeped in something for a long time," says Julian Picard, who works in MIT's Plasma Science and Fusion Center. "After spending so long working hard on something, you start to develop a gut instinct.”

Julian Picard: Chopping microwaves, sharpening instincts

MIT graduate student slices microwave pulses to test advanced accelerators.

August 12, 2019

A wide-angle view inside the W7-X stellarator

MIT fusion collaboration receives renewed funding

Department of Energy funds Plasma Science and Fusion Center to advance fusion studies on the world’s largest stellarator.

September 4, 2018

MIT postdoc Theresa Wilks enjoys time in the DIII-D control room, where she oversees experiments that provide insights about plasma turbulence in fusion tokamaks.

Fine-tuning fusion

Postdoc Theresa Wilks finds home on the west coast, helming an MIT collaboration with the DIII-D tokamak fusion reactor.

April 9, 2018

Assistant Professor Zach Hartwig joined the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering faculty this year after almost a decade of doctoral and postdoc work at MIT.

Zach Hartwig: Applying diverse skills in pursuit of a fusion breakthrough

Newly-appointed Assistant Professor Zach Hartwig's mission is to use nuclear technology to benefit society and the environment.

May 22, 2017

“As a child I would throw a ball through the air and wonder why it made a curved shape; I would hold an ice cube in my hand and wonder at the processes that made it melt. And it turned out there are physical models for all those things and you can explain them somehow with math. That was just really beautiful for me,” says MIT graduate student Libby Tolman.

Fusing theory and practice

Grad student Libby Tolman melds the elegance of theoretical physics with practical applications of nuclear science.

November 14, 2016

Nuno Loureiro’s primary ambition for the next few years is to home in on a complete understanding of magnetic reconnection in the simplest possible plasma model.

Nuno Loureiro: A theorist seeks the elusive fundamentals of magnetic reconnection

May 12, 2016

Ted Golfinopoulos (left), a postdoc with MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, invites visitors to the USA Science and Engineering Festival to feel how insulated copper coil gets warm when electrical current runs through it, in a demonstration about magnetism and electricity.

Fusion outreach ignites in spring

Plasma Science and Fusion Center education team excites the public about MIT energy research.

May 11, 2016

MIT nuclear science and engineering undergrad Jake Hecla teaches the audience about the fundamentals of charged-particle radiation.

Inspiring the next generation of nuclear engineers

Nuclear science and engineering community leads “Science on Saturday” outreach at MIT.

December 17, 2015

MIT graduate students Adam Kuang and Alex Creely

Students advancing a future with carbon-free fusion

PhD candidates Adam Kuang and Alex Creely are thriving after their first year at MIT's Plasma Science and Fusion Center.

June 17, 2015

Stoking a passion for science with tales of plasma research

MIT Lincoln Laboratory's John Nwagbaraocha discusses his love of science, plasma, and popular culture with local high school students.

May 13, 2015

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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