Advances Toward Commercial Nuclear Fusion - Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment (ACEE) Program

Nuclear fusion energy research is receiving billions of dollars in government and private funding in the race to develop new, carbon-free energy sources. Learn the fundamentals of nuclear fusion from Arturo Dominguez, Head of Science Education Programs at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, and hear from experts on prospects for commercializing this technology.

Meet the Facilitators: 

Arturo Dominguez is a plasma physicist and head of the Science Education Office at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL).  Dominguez joined PPPL in 2012 after receiving his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with a degree in experimental plasma physics. He was born and raised in Bogota, Colombia, and began his college education at the National University of Colombia before moving to the United States to continue his college education at the University of Texas at Austin where he received a bachelor’s degree in physics with honors.

David Gates, the chief technology officer at Thea Energy, was until recently the head of the Advanced Projects Department and the stellarator physics leader at PPPL. He is also a senior research scholar at Princeton's Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment. Gates did his undergraduate studies in physics and mathematics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and did his graduate studies at Columbia University where he received his M.S., M. Phil., and Ph.D. in applied physics.

Laura Berzak Hopkins is associate laboratory director for strategy and deputy chief research officer. Berzak Hopkins’ technical research includes more than 100 designed and executed experiments at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) and has focused on development of inertial confinement fusion laser-target designs with high efficiency, low gas-fill density hohlraums as well as enhanced target implosion symmetry control with laser pulse shaping; this laser-target platform became the foundation for the first successful ignition design. Berzak Hopkins holds a Ph.D. in Plasma Physics from Princeton University, where she was an NNSA Stewardship Science Graduate Fellow. Her undergraduate degree is from Dartmouth College with a double major in physics and chemistry. 

Elizabeth Paul is Assistant Professor of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics at Columbia University.  Professor Paul's work focuses on the advancement of the stellarator magnetic confinement concept, a complex toroidal device that enjoys enhanced stability properties. Dr. Paul received her AB in Astrophysical Sciences with concentrations in Applied and Computational Mathematics and Applications of Computing from Princeton University in 2015. In 2020 she received her PhD in Physics from the University of Maryland, College Park. In 2021.

What to Expect: In this 2-hour seminar, Arturo Dominguez will provide a primer on nuclear fusion that will be followed by a panel discussion on the prospects for commercialization. 

To request accommodations for this event, please contact the workshop or event facilitator at least 3 working days prior to the event.