Welcome to the 2025 Introduction to Plasma and Fusion Course



Generic placeholder thumbnail


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

Registration was free and participants that attend the full course and complete a deliverable by the due date (July 13, 2025) will receive a certificate of completion.

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

The content reflected 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.

Stay tuned for details about the 2026 Introduction to Fusion Course!

Live Streaming

The entire course was 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.

Certificate questions

We know that many of you have questions about the certificate. We have compiled a comprehensive FAQ here. The certificate questionnaire can be found here.

Speakers

Generic placeholder thumbnail

Prof. Lane Carasik

Virginia Commonwealth U.
Generic placeholder thumbnail

Prof. Carlos Cartagena-Sanchez

Beloit College
Generic placeholder thumbnail

Dr. Ryan Chaban

ARPA-E
Generic placeholder thumbnail

Dr. Cesar Clauser

MIT

Generic placeholder thumbnail

Dr. Domenica Corona-Rivera

PPPL
Generic placeholder thumbnail

Dr. Sebastian De Pascuale

ORNL
Generic placeholder thumbnail

Prof. Franklin Dollar

UC Irvine
Generic placeholder thumbnail

Dr. Arturo Dominguez

PPPL

Generic placeholder thumbnail

Prof. Carmen Guerra-Garcia

MIT
Generic placeholder thumbnail

Dr. Peter Heuer

Laboratory for Laser Energetics
Generic placeholder thumbnail

Dr. Jimmy Juno

PPPL
Generic placeholder thumbnail

Dr. Samuel Lazerson

Gauss Fusion GmbH

Generic placeholder thumbnail

Dr. Alex LeViness

CFS
Generic placeholder thumbnail

Dr. Nicolas Lopez

Tokamak Energy
Generic placeholder thumbnail

Dr. Nick Murphy

Harvard-Smithsonian CfA
Generic placeholder thumbnail

Dr. Angelica Ottaviano

Thea Energy

Generic placeholder thumbnail

Prof. Paz-Soldan

Columbia U
Generic placeholder thumbnail

Dr. Maggie Rivers

PPPL
Generic placeholder thumbnail

Dr. Alvaro Sanchez-Villar

PPPL
Generic placeholder thumbnail

Prof. David Schaffner

Bryn Mawr College

Generic placeholder thumbnail

Dr. Raspberry Simpson

LLNL
Generic placeholder thumbnail

Prof. Derek Thuecks

Washington College
Generic placeholder thumbnail

Dr. Pia Valdivia

UCSD
Generic placeholder thumbnail

Dr. Vicente Valenzuela-Villaseca

Princeton U

Generic placeholder thumbnail

Dr. Aaron Washington

Tokamak Energy
Generic placeholder thumbnail

Dr. Patrick White

Clean Air Task Force
Generic placeholder thumbnail

Dr. Emre Yildirim

Tokamak Energy
Generic placeholder thumbnail

Dr. Setthivoine You

Helicity Space Corp.

Generic placeholder thumbnail

PlasmaPy Team

Panelists

Generic placeholder thumbnail

Caroline Anderson

FIA
Generic placeholder thumbnail

Dr. Igor Slowing

DOE-WDTS
Generic placeholder thumbnail

Prof. Jeremiah Williams

NSF

Agenda

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 (pptx)
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 (pptx)
LeViness
Plasma Turbulence (pptx)
Valdivia
Tokamaks (pptx)
Clauser
Laboratory Plasma Astrophysics (pptx)
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 (pptx)
Thuecks
Networking Session I (register here)
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 (pptx)
Simpson
Blanket and Fuel Cycle
Yildirim
Laser-Driven Particle Acceleration (OPAL)
Dollar
Plasma Controls (pptx)
Corona-Rivera
Computational Workshop I (notebook I)
Murphy/Heuer/Schaffner
1:00 PM Break/Hallway Discussion Break/Hallway Discussion Break/Hallway Discussion Break/Hallway Discussion Break (start and end time may change)
1:30 PM Challenges of a Fusion Startup (pptx)
Washington
Outer Fuel Cycle and Heat Transport System Design - Heat Transport, Fuel Management (D-T), and Power Conversion
Carasik
RF Heating and AI (pptx)
Sanchez-Villar
Integrated Plasma Modeling
De Pascuale
Computational Workshop II (notebook II)
Murphy/Heuer/Schaffner
2:30 PM Break/Hallway Discussion Break/Hallway Discussion Break/Hallway Discussion Break/Hallway Discussion Break (start and end time may change)
3:00 PM Challenge of Fusion Regulation and Licensing (pptx)
White
Magnetic Reconnection (key)
Juno
Opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students
Anderson/Slowing/Williams
Networking Session II (register here)
Grads and early careers
Computational Workshop III
Murphy/Heuer/Schaffner
4:00 PM Adjourn Adjourn Adjourn Adjourn Adjourn / CLOSING REMARKS