By Michael Padilla
Robert Kolasinski (8366) has received a $2.5 million, five-year Early Career Research Program award from the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science to support his work on how intense fusion plasmas interact with the interior surfaces of fusion reactors.
Robert’s research will develop the scientific foundations needed to determine how reactor surfaces change in the harsh plasma environment and to identify mechanisms that limit material lifetime.
“This award provides a great opportunity to lay a foundation for understanding materials for fusion energy,” Robert says. “I am grateful to the Office of Science for this honor and for their support of our work. The next five years will be very exciting.”
Robert’s winning submission “Characterizing the Dynamic Response of Surfaces to Plasma Exposure,” was selected by the Office of Fusion Energy Sciences, which supports a broad range of plasma physics research activities.