C16: Plasma Physics

Tatsuya Kobayashi has been an assistant professor at the National Institute for Fusion Science (NIFS) since 2014. He graduated from the National Institute of Technology, Matsue College in 2009 after an electrical engineering course. He obtained his PhD in Physics in March 2014 at Kyushu University, where he studied basic turbulence physics in magnetized plasmas. After moving to NIFS, he continued his studies in turbulence structure formation, mainly through experimental data analysis and modeling, particularly focusing upon the nonlinear interplay between turbulence and the radial electric field. In parallel, he conducted experiments in the Large Helical Device (LHD) in order to clarify the underlying physics of the hydrogen isotope effect in transport barrier criticality.

His citation reads: Outstanding contributions on the driving mechanism of the mean radial electric field and zonal flow and the impact of the radial electric field on the turbulent transport and structure formation in magnetically confined fusion plasmas.

Eleonora Viezzer is awarded the 2018 IUPAP Young Scientist Prize in Plasma Physics for her exceptional contribution in the field of confined fusion plasma physics combining theoretical models and experiment.

Eleonora Viezzer studied physics and mathematics at the Leopold-Franzens University of Innsbruck and at the Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich. She did her PhD thesis “Radial electric field studies in the plasma edge of ASDEX Upgrade” at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Garching, Germany and received her doctorate from the Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich in 2013. During her PhD thesis she built a high-resolution edge charge exchange recombination spectroscopy diagnostic suite which allowed her to unravel the nature of the radial electric field and the existence of poloidal impurity asymmetries. Following her thesis work, she did a Postdoc at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics with a EUROfusion Researcher fellowship. In 2016, she started her academic career with an Assistant Professor Tenure Track position and a Marie Sklodowska Curie grant at the University of Seville where she is currently leading a research group on tokamak plasma edge physics.

Her citation reads: ‘For outstanding contributions on the interplay between radial electric fields, plasma flows and transport in magnetically confined fusion plasmas combining cutting-edge diagnostic techniques and state-of-the-art theoretical models.’

Sam Vinko received his Master’s degree from the University of Rome Tor Vergata (Italy) in 2007, and his doctorate from the University of Oxford (UK) in 2011 working with Prof. Justin Wark, investigating the interaction of intense XUV light with solid-density matter on the FLASH free-electron laser (FEL) in Hamburg (Germany). He was awarded the Culham thesis prize from the UK Institute of Physics for this work in 2012. As a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oxford he worked extensively on the Linac Coherent Light Source FEL in Stanford (USA), showing how intense X-rays could be used to create and study plasmas at temperatures and densities similar to those found half-way towards the centre of the Sun, with exquisite precision and control. Dr. Vinko was awarded a Royal Society University Research Fellowship in 2014 and now leads a research group at the University of Oxford focused on investigating matter in extreme conditions using X-ray FEL sources. He shared the 2015 Dawson Award for Excellence in Plasma Physics Research, awarded by the American Physical Society for outstanding achievement in plasma physics.

His Citation reads : ‘In recognition of his seminal contributions in using the world’s first hard x-ray free electron laser to create and diagnose solid density plasmas, and for new insights into the electronic structure and collisional dynamics of such systems.’

After her Bachelor degree, Dr. L. Lancia got her Master in « Scienze per l’Ingeneria » from University of Rome, La Sapienza in 2006. Both for her Bachelor and Master degrees, she got the highest final mark 110/110. She then performed her PhD work in the field of laser plasma interaction, which was awarded on 2010 as a joint PhD between the University of Rome, La Sapienza and the Ecole Polytehnique, Palaiseau (France). The thesis title was « Study of non-linear effects on laser propagation and electron transport in plasmas”. After a post-doctoral period at the University of Rome, La Sapienza, she is now a Researcher – Teacher at the same University. She also conducts research as Principal Investigator at the Laboratoire d’Utilisation des Lasers Intenses, LULI (Fr). In parallel with her research activities, she teaches Physics at the University of Rome.

Dr. Lancia’s laudation reads : “For experimental contributions to our understanding of laser-matter interaction phenomena, including Brillouin amplification of laser beams and magnetic fields self-generation in plasmas.”

Dr. Christian Theiler got his master degree in physics from the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich ETHZ in Zurich (CH). He then joined the Centre de Recherches en Physique des Plasmas (CRPP) of the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL in Lauasanne, CH) for his PhD thesis, which he got in 2011. His thesis, “Basic Investigation of Turbulent Structures and Blobs of Relevance for Magnetic Fusion Plasmas”, got a Special Distinction among the Best Thesis of the EPFL. He then moved to the Plasma Science and Fusion Center of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for his postdoctoral years (2012-2014). During this period, he was also granted a Swiss National Science fellowship as an advanced postdoctoral fellow. In 2014, he won one of the EUROfusion post-doctoral fellowships and came back to the CRPP. Besides his research activities on the CRPP tokamak TCV, he also participated in the preparation of the first massive open online course MOOC on plasma physics.

Dr. Theiler’s laudation reads: “For pioneering work on the physics of the edge of magnetically confined plasmas and its influence on fusion performance and on the interaction between the plasma and the surrounding material walls.”