Speaker: Elizabeth Paul, Plasma Physics, Columbia University
Title: "Advancing magnetic confinement fusion through shape optimization"
Abstract: A stellarator confines plasma with asymmetric toroidal magnetic fields for fusion energy applications. The immense freedom in the stellarator design space provides opportunities for reducing engineering complexity and improving performance. Although the magnetic field may be far from symmetric, modern stellarators take advantage of “hidden symmetries” for enhanced confinement. This talk will provide an overview of recent advances in stellarator optimization and their application to the design of new experiments in the Columbia Plasma Laboratory. The Columbia Stellarator eXperiment (CSX) will build on the success of the Columbia Non-neutral Torus (CNT) to confine a small aspect ratio quasisymmetric plasma with two shaped interlinked coils. Using this device, we will explore the physics of quasiaxisymmetry and demonstrate non-insulated HTS technology for non-planar magnets.
Bio: Dr. Elizabeth Paul uses theoretical and computational methods to study the magnetic confinement of plasmas for fusion energy sciences. Controlled fusion holds promise of providing a carbon-neutral, safe, and sustainable energy source. Her work focuses on the advancement of the stellarator magnetic confinement concept, a complex toroidal device which enjoys enhanced stability properties. Dr. Paul’s research integrates applied mathematical techniques to improve the design of stellarator configurations through numerical optimization. She studies the rich behavior present in three-dimensional magnetic confinement devices, including the nonlinear dynamics of fast particle populations. Dr. Paul received her A. B. in Astrophysical Sciences with concentrations in Applied and Computational Mathematics and Applications of Computing from Princeton University in 2015. In 2020 she received her Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Maryland, College Park. In 2021 Dr. Paul received the Marshall N. Rosenbluth Award from the American Physical Society in recognition of her doctoral work, “For pioneering the development of adjoint methods and application of shape calculus for fusion plasmas, enabling a new derivative-based method of stellarator design.” Prior to joining Columbia University, Dr. Paul was a Presidential Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Princeton University.