Speaker: Clayton Myers, Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS)
Title: Building the SPARC Tokamak: Perspectives from the interface of physics and engineering
Abstract: Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) is leveraging high-temperature superconducting magnet technology to pursue the high-field tokamak path to fusion power commercialization. The SPARC tokamak, which is presently under construction at the CFS campus in Devens, MA, is expected to become the first commercially relevant fusion device to generate net fusion energy (Q > 1). This seminar will present an update on the rapid progress that is being made on the construction of SPARC and its components. I will introduce the SPARC In-Vessel Diagnostics Team and the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) physics collaborations that I lead at CFS. These teams and collaborations routinely work at the interface of physics and engineering to make the compromises that are necessary to enable fusion energy commercialization.
Bio: Dr. Clayton Myers is a plasma physicist and fusion energy scientist who leads the in-vessel diagnostics team and the magnetohydrodynamic physics collaborations at Commonwealth Fusion Systems. He holds a B.S. in Engineering Physics from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in Astrophysical Sciences from Princeton University. Specializing in magnetic diagnostics and magnetohydrodynamics, Clayton’s work in fusion energy has spanned both magnetically confined fusion experiments at Commonwealth Fusion Systems and Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and pulsed-power-driven inertial fusion experiments at Sandia National Laboratories and Cornell University. Clayton has also designed and operated laboratory plasma astrophysics experiments to recreate and study astrophysical phenomena such as magnetic reconnection and solar eruptions.
Event details: In-person seminars are only available to CU ID holders. At this time, Non-Columbia affiliates and the general public are only invited to participate remotely. Contact [email protected] if you would like the Zoom link for this seminar.