Fusion at Columbia: Fundamental Research and Industry Engagement
AUG Seminar
- Date: May 19, 2025
- Time: 12:20 PM - 01:15 PM (Local Time Germany)
- Speaker: Carlos Paz-Soldan
- Carlos Paz-Soldan is an Associate Professor of Applied Physics at Columbia University in the City of New York. He received his B.Sc.E degree in Engineering Physics from Queen’s University at Kingston in 2007 and his Ph.D degree in Physics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2012. After his Ph.D he worked as a scientist at General Atomics in San Diego until he was appointed with tenure to Columbia University in 2021. Carlos Paz-Soldan’s research interests are motivated by the desire to solve the scientific and technological challenges standing in the way of harnessing controlled fusion energy on earth. In particular, he is interested the control of transient off-normal events that can prevent the reliable operation of magnetic fusion device concepts. Dr. Paz-Soldan is the recipient of the Marshall N. Rosenbluth Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Prize in 2013 and the Thomas H. Stix Award for Outstanding Early Career Contributions to Plasma Physics Research in 2021, both from the American Physical Society.
- Location: IPP Garching
- Room: Seminarraum D3
Culminating in the recently announced launch of the Columbia Fusion Research Center, Fusion at Columbia has been expanding into new directions and with new partners. This presentation will discuss a mix of fundamental research carried out at Columbia, sponsored by the federal government, and research in support of the growing private fusion sector, sponsored directly by industry. Technical topics to be discussed will be in the area of disruptions and MHD, which is particularly important for tokamaks under construction, as well as reactor design more broadly and applied to negative triangularity tokamaks specifically, and if time allows touch on fusion technology and stellarators. The role of partnerships will be emphasized, whether in collaboration with industry, national laboratories, or international partners. Finally, an informal summary on recent changes in the US research ecosystem and associated impacts will be provided.