I am starting a PhD project at Durham University, supervised by Prof Marco Cecconello, where I will be working closely with fellow CDT students Brian Steward and Ian Dolby. My project is working with high performance modelling codes to study the interaction of fast ions with MHD instabilities in MAST-Upgrade. Effective confinement of fast ions is essential for tokamak operation, and MHD instabilities can cause redistribution and loss of fast ions, severely affecting tokamak performance. I am comparing a complex ‘full orbit model’ (HALO), a simplified ‘reduced transport model’ (TRANSP/NUBEAM), and experimental data from several diagnostics on MAST-U, with the aim of validating and optimising the reduced transport model, so that we can better understand fast ion behaviour.
Before joining the Fusion CDT, I did a Maths degree at Cambridge University. My most recent research project was using a similar reduced transport model to study wave-particle interactions in the plasma of Jupiter’s magnetosphere (which involves a lot of physics with surprising parallels to tokamak physics). I am passionate about fighting climate change, and it has always been my dream to work in a field where I can contribute to solving the energy crisis. I am incredibly proud to be on the Fusion CDT, helping to achieve the true potential of nuclear fusion technology!