I completed both my BSc in Physics with Philosophy and my MSc in Fusion Energy at the University of York. It was during my BSc Project where I investigated strike point sweeping that my passion for fusion began and this passion was solidified during my MSc. I will be starting a PhD project at the York Plasma Institute entitled “XFEL Studies for laser fusions: generating data-rich information sets for code benchmarking and validation” and supervised by Prof Nigel Woolsey.
My research will focus on using intense X-ray flashes from XFEL (X-ray Free Electron Laser) and laser-plasma facilities as high accuracy X-ray imagers for laser driven experiments. The aim is to use these measurements and learn how early-time high power laser target interactions and material response seed hydrodynamic instabilities such as the Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities. These instabilities are of significant interest and problematic to the inertial confinement approach to fusion. They are partly responsible for driving asymmetric implosions and the potential to break up an inertial fusion fuel capsule. Through developing new techniques that enable accurate imaging of the seeds of these instabilities we aim to improve the laser-driven inertial fusion implosions.