Welcome to the 2025 Introduction to Plasma and Fusion Course



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During the weeks of June 2nd-13th 2025, PPPL will virtually host an intensive course on plasma and fusion energy sciences, taught by world renowned scientists from various national and international institutions. The course is targeted at undergraduate students interested in plasma physics and fusion energy science and is open to public at large.

Registration is free and participants that attend the full course and complete a deliverable by the due date (TBD) will receive a certificate of completion.

The introductory course will be fully conducted via Zoom, and in half-day sessions (12PM-4PM ET) in order to accommodate various time zones.

The content will reflect the broad research under the Fusion Energy Sciences and Plasma Physics umbrella, including discovery plasma sciences, magnetic fusion energy, fusion materials and technology and high energy density plasmas.

Live Streaming

The entire course will be streamed live, recorded, and uploaded on this site and available regardless of enrollment status.

Due to the public nature of this event, all participants and speakers are asked to abide by a code of conduct.

Speakers

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Prof. Carlos Cartagena-Sanchez

Beloit College
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Dr. Ryan Chaban

ARPA-E
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Dr. Cesar Clauser

MIT
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Dr. Domenica Corona-Rivera

PPPL

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Dr. Sebastian De Pascuale

ORNL
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Prof. Franklin Dollar

UC Irvine
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Dr. Arturo Dominguez

PPPL
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Prof. Carmen Guerra-Garcia

MIT

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Dr. Peter Heuer

Laboratory for Laser Energetics
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Dr. Jimmy Juno

PPPL
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Prof. Lane Carasik

Virginia Commonwealth U.
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Dr. Samuel Lazerson

Gauss Fusion GmbH

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Dr. Alex LeViness

CFS
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Dr. Nicolas Lopez

Tokamak Energy
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Dr. Nick Murphy

Harvard-Smithsonian CfA
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Dr. Angelica Ottaviano

Thea Energy

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Prof. Paz-Soldan

Columbia U
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Dr. Maggie Rivers

PPPL
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Dr. Alvaro Sanchez-Villar

PPPL
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Prof. David Schaffner

Bryn Mawr College

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Prof. Derek Thuecks

Washington College
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Dr. Pia Valdivia

UCSD
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Dr. Vicente Valenzuela-Villaseca

Princeton U
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Dr. Aaron Washington

Tokamak Energy

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Dr. Patrick White

Clean Air Task Force
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Dr. Emre Yildrim

Tokamak Energy
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Dr. Setthivoine You

HelicitySpace
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PlasmaPy Team

Panelists

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Caroline Anderson

FIA
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Dr. Igor Slowing

DOE-WDTS
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Prof. Jeremiah Williams

NSF

Agenda

Stay tuned for this year's agenda. For reference, the course will follow a similar outline as the 2024 edition.

Eastern Time Day 1 (6/2/25) Day 2 (6/3/25) Day 3 (6/4/25) Day 4 (6/5/25) Day 5 (6/6/25)
12:00 PM 12:30PM: Intro to the Course
Dominguez
Intro to Plasmas
Cartagena-Sanchez
Plasma Waves
Lopez
Stellarators
Lazerson
Low-Temperature Plasmas
Guerra-Garcia
1:00 PM Intro to Fusion
Paz-Soldan
Break/Hallway Discussion Break/Hallway Discussion Break/Hallway Discussion Break/Hallway Discussion
1:30 PM Intro to Fusion
Paz-Soldan
Single Particle Motion
LeViness
Plasma Turbulence
Valdivia
Tokamaks
Clauser
Laboratory Plasma Astrophysics
Valenzuela-Villaseca
2:30 PM Break/Hallway Discussion Break/Hallway Discussion Break/Hallway Discussion Break/Hallway Discussion Break/Hallway Discussion
3:00 PM Fusion Markets and Society
Chaban
Plasmas as a Fluid
Thuecks
Networking Session I
Grads and early careers
Other Fusion Concepts
You
Plasma-Material Interactions
Ottaviano
4:00 PM Adjourn Adjourn Adjourn Adjourn Adjourn
Eastern Time Day 6 (6/9/25) Day 7 (6/10/25) Day 8 (6/11/25) Day 9 (6/12/25) Day 10 (6/13/25)
12:00 PM Inertial Fusion Energy
Rivers
Blanket and Fuel Cycle
Yildirim
Laser-Driven Particle Acceleration
Dollar
Plasma Controls
Corona-Rivera
Computational Workshop
Murphy/Heuer/Schaffner
1:00 PM Break/Hallway Discussion Break/Hallway Discussion Break/Hallway Discussion Break/Hallway Discussion Break/Hallway Discussion
1:30 PM Challenges of a Fusion Startup
Washington
Outer Fuel Cycle and Heat Transport System Design - Heat Transport, Fuel Management (D-T), and Power Conversion
Lane
RF Heating and AI
Sanchez-Villar
Integrated Plasma Modeling
De Pascuale
Computational Workshop
Murphy/Heuer/Schaffner
2:30 PM Break/Hallway Discussion Break/Hallway Discussion Break/Hallway Discussion Break/Hallway Discussion Break/Hallway Discussion
3:00 PM Challenge of Fusion Regulation and Licensing
White
Magnetic Reconnection
Juno
Opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students
Anderson/Slowing/Williams
Networking Session II
Grads and early careers
Computational Workshop
Murphy/Heuer/Schaffner
4:00 PM Adjourn Adjourn Adjourn Adjourn Adjourn / CLOSING REMARKS