News Archive

A photo grid of six candid and portrait photographs featuring Dennis Whyte in 2011, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2023.

November 7, 2023

Dennis Whyte Steps Down as Director of the Plasma Science and Fusion Center

Dennis Whyte, the Hitachi America Professor of Engineering in the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering, came to MIT in 2006 and has been director of the PSFC since 2015. Over the past nine years, the number of students at the PSFC has grown tremendously, as have the types of partnerships and breadth of research. After stepping down at the end of 2023, Whyte plans to focus on teaching, research, and entrepreneurship at the PSFC. The Vice President of Research is forming a search committee to identify the PSFC's next leader; if a new director isn’t selected by 2024, an Interim Director will be appointed.

PSFC News

Three people smiling and facing a camera as they sign documents

October 27, 2023

PSFC is designated an IAEA Collaborating Center, the first in fusion

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Grossi traveled to MIT to give the David J. Rose Lecture in Nuclear Technology and sign an agreement designating the PSFC as an IAEA Collaborating Center. Over the next four years, Dr. Cristina Rea will execute a workplan that will further the IAEA's "AI in Fusion" initiative by improving access to fusion data and providing educational opportunities for the development of the fusion workforce.

PSFC News

October 20, 2023

Maria Gatu-Johnson elected APS Division of Plasma Physics Fellow

MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center Principal Research Scientist Maria Gatu Johnson has been elected an American Physical Society (APS) Division of Plasma Physics Fellow for her analysis of the behavior of plasmas in inertial confinement fusion tests, an essential contribution to improving the performance of fusion reactions.

A man and a woman scientist stand next to one another and smile next to one another as they stand in front of a partially-deconstructed fusion device that is housed in a large concrete-lined room on MIT's campus.

September 1, 2023

Fast-tracking fusion energy’s arrival with AI and accessibility

The Plasma Science and Fusion Center and four collaborating organizations are working together to modernize fusion data for use with AI, increase accessibility to data, and diversify participation in fusion science.

Sam Packman (left) holds a copper VIPER cable. He iw a white man with sandy hair, and is wearing a blue quarter-zip sweater and wearing white nitrile gloves. Nicolo Riva (right) holds he other end of the coil as they inspect it together. He is slightly out of focus, a white man with curly brown hair, glasses, a short beard, and a tan shirt.

August 25, 2023

A welcome new pipeline for students invested in clean energy

Fusion Undergraduate Scholars (FUSars) program offers students in-depth research opportunities in fusion science and energy.

MIT News

Johan Frenje against an image of a laser- the laser is visible with an orange center, fading to red and then purple. Johan is smiling in the left of the frame; a white man with short sandy hair, wire rimmed glasses, a dark jacket and a light gray button up shirt.

August 8, 2023

Johan Frenje wins Fusion Power Associates 2023 Leadership Award

Johan Frenje, Senior Research Scientist and the Head of the High-Energy-Density Physics (HEDP) Division at the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center, has been selected as a recipient of the Fusion Power Associates (FPA) 2023 Leadership Award.

Graphic depicting diode. Two stacked rectangles; the bottom is light gray and the top is translucent pink. Arrows show the field lines coming from the front of the intersection of the two rectangles, looping under the gray, and back up towards to the top of the pink.

July 31, 2023

Team creates simple superconducting device that could dramatically cut energy use in computing, among other important applications

MIT scientists and colleagues have created a superconducting device that could dramatically cut energy use in computing, among other important applications.

Materials Research Library

Graeme Sutcliffe (left) in a green shirt against a background of greenery and Patrick Adrian (right) in a blue checked shirt against an out of foucs schematic of the OMEGA laser facility

July 27, 2023

Patrick Adrian and Graeme Sutcliffe receive prestigious Fellowships in High-Energy-Density Sciences

Two MIT graduate students, Patrick Adrian and Graeme Sutcliffe, have been awarded distinguished fellowships to further their studies of high-energy-density physics.

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