Harnessing plasma’s potential to provide near-limitless energy
Merging plasma physics and engineering for fusion applications
Unraveling the behavior of the fourth state of matter
Understanding and counteracting plasma’s effects on materials
Studying plasma’s reactions to extreme conditions
Drawing practical solutions from lab science
BSEE, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1983)
Analog and digital electronic design; PC board design and electronic packaging.
Electrical engineering to support the design and operation of magnetic fusion reactors: Magnet systems, including power supplies, cryogenics, and diagnostics. Vacuum systems and vacuum vessel temperature control. RF heating and plasma diagnostics. Reactor safety systems and interlocks.
Analog Electronics: Amplifiers, filters, data converters, sensor interfaces and signal conditioning, signal processing and feedback control.
Digital Electronics: System design with CPLD’s, FPGA’s, and microprocessors for precision timing, sequencing, and synchronization. Fiber optic communication and control links.
RF Systems: Analysis and design of RF tuning and matching networks. Amplitude, frequency, and phase control of RF amplifiers. Design of kilowatt level RF sources for MHD diagnostics.