A native of the Atlanta area, Jerry came to MIT in 1993 to study Mathematics and Nuclear Engineering, with a keen interest in the applications of nuclear science to energy generation. His undergraduate research included experimental magnetic fusion projects, as well as support of the inertial fusion program through an internship at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Later he obtained his PhD in Applied Plasma Physics, performing his thesis research on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak, located at the PSFC.
From 2006 to 2016, Jerry coordinated the Pedestal Physics topical research area on Alcator C-Mod. He continues to coordinate Pedestal Physics research for the MFE group at the PSFC, comprising experimental research on a number of domestic and international devices. In connection with this role, he has served on a number of US committees to guide and facilitate DOE sponsored research, and is a member of the International Tokamak Physics Activity, which is charged with addressing high-priority issues for ITER. Additionally, he serves as the DIII-D coordinator for PSFC collaborations, facilitating research projects and new hardware capabilities on this important US fusion facility.
Jerry and his family reside in Concord, MA.
Jerry Hughes is an MIT Principal Research Scientist, and serves as Deputy Division Head of the Magnetic Fusion Experiments Division of the PSFC. He has published numerous research articles on experimental tokamak physics and predictions for future fusion devices, with a particular focus on plasma edge transport and stability, and the influence of these on energy confinement and heat exhaust. Over more than 20 years he has performed research, and mentored others, on MIT’s Alcator C-Mod fusion tokamak and several other fusion devices sited in the US and abroad. He has served on a number of US committees to guide and facilitate DOE sponsored research, and is a member of the International Tokamak Physics Activity, which is charged with addressing high-priority issues for ITER. His latest collaboration is on SPARC, a major US fusion facility intended to demonstrate net fusion energy production.
Ph.D., Applied Plasma Physics, Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering, MIT, 2005 Dissertation subject: Edge Transport Barrier Studies On the Alcator C-Mod Tokamak
Jerry has worked in experimental physics on magnetic fusion devices since the late 1990’s, specifically focusing on accessing and sustaining high edge pedestals in tokamaks. For over a decade, he led the Pedestal Physics topical research area on Alcator C-Mod. During this time, C-Mod was instrumental in documenting and understanding the influence of high magnetic fields on the access the high confinement regimes, governed by changes in plasma transport and MHD stability, in the edge pedestal region. Access to high performance regimes without destructive edge instabilities was greatly expanded during this period, helping to pave the way for developing the means to operate future burning plasma devices at high field.
Key research areas for our Pedestal team include edge transport regimes which offer good energy confinement but lack destructive instabilities, the processes of fueling plasma through a particle transport barrier, and the feedback between core and edge physics in setting tokamak parameters.