About Me

Hi, thanks for visiting. As a kid I was naturally curious about the world and enjoyed solving problems. I’ve been voraciously curious ever since, and I’m currently working on computational physics modeling of magnetically confined plasmas for fusion energy.

My research has spanned a range of challenges, from being the first to use deep neural networks on an ion beam surface diagnostic, to investigating magnetohydrodynamic instabilities in the hot plasma core, to understanding the interaction between plasmas and materials. I was lucky to be the first to achieve high speed images of plasma physics phenomena including ultra-fast electrons moving near the speed of light and a variety of plasma instabilities. I’ve published over 90 articles in peer-reviewed journals, traveled the world giving talks and presentations, and collaborated with dozens of scientists.

I once recorded a high-speed movie of one of the most extreme temperature differences in our solar system: a cryogenic hydrogen pellet with a temperature of -452 °F was shot into a hot plasma with a temperature of about 200 million °F, which is hotter than the sun! That experiment was affectionately called “a snowball in hell,” with the goal of investigating if fusion plasmas could be re-fuelled on the fly.

I’ve traveled to every continent except Antarctica. I love surfing and have ridden waves in 13 countries, my favorite being Indonesia because of the warm people, beautiful landscapes, and incredible quality of waves.