Tag: plasma

Zafar on plasma diagnostics for nuclear fusion

Zafar in his lab
Zafar in lab working on his experimental setup.

This week we spoke with Abdullah Zafar, whose work focuses on diagnostics of plasma. Zafar discusses how optical spectroscopy can be used to study plasma effects and dynamics, which leads to a more robust understanding of plasma. There is some very interesting and cutting edge engineering at play in Zafar’s work, allowing him to attain extremely high resolution high accuracy spectroscopic results of scans of a plasma field in only two dimensions. Further, we discuss current and future plasma applications, graduate school, and Zafar shares words of advice for those considering or in the early stages of their research career.

References and Resources for this episode:

  1. ITER

Ford on plasma research and nuclear engineering

This week we sat down with Kris Ford to discuss plasma research, higher education, and motivation. Mr. Ford is a P.hD candidate pursuing his doctoral degree in nuclear engineering, specifically plasma research. He discusses the intricacies of his current work, including the ultra high precision fabrication capabilities and the statistical uncertainties related to the methods used. Further, we explore the motivations and challenges of remaining mentally healthy when engaged in high demand work, and some approaches to overcome the challenges associated with such a situation.

References:

  1. 4-START:Fourth State Applications Research Group (Research group Mr. Ford is currently part of)
  2. Mindset: The new psychology of succes by Dr. Carol S. Dweck
  3. Vasimr plasma engine
  4.  Photo Credit: Kris Ford. An oxygen plasma is created, which should have a cylindrical shape due to the powering coil shape. Ionization occurs in the power deposition region. In this case, an ‘orb’ forms however, a phenomenon currently unexplained.

Plasma_Ford