The prospect of near-term fusion electricity opens new doors for university-based plasma physics research. Even after the grand societal challenge of putting fusion on the grid is achieved, research addressing grand intellectual challenges in plasma transport will remain vibrant. University groups will engage with sponsors and collaborators including not only governments and national labs around the world, but also private companies and utilities. In this talk I present side-by-side examples of recent research results on turbulence and transport measurements, as well as predictive simulation and modeling, carried out by researchers at MIT in support of both the nascent fusion industry and the established fission industry. I will share my perspective, as an academic department head, on the future of fusion research in universities as we move through and beyond the era of burning plasmas.
Co-sponsored by: MIPSE and SEM NPSS
Speaker(s): Prof. Anne White,
Bldg: 1013 Dow, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States, 48109, Virtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/323604