I am Yacopo Damizia, an Italian Physicist who is passionate about Plasma Physics and Nuclear Fusion. I graduated with a Master’s degree in Particle and Astroparticle Physics at the University of Rome “Sapienza”. During my Master’s thesis project, I had the opportunity to work inside the laboratories at ENEA Fusion Division in Frascati, Italy. Principally, I worked on a magnetic confinement device called PROTO-SPHERA experiment; furthermore, I participated on the last experimental campaign of the Frascati Tokamak Upgrade (FTU). My interest in Nuclear Fusion Technology grew from reading sci-fi books when I was young. Due to this passion, I decided to continue my studies in Physics at University. I want to contribute to this field and my ambition is to work on ITER. A PhD with the Fusion CDT was an obvious path to take, for my preparation to become a scientist in the field of Fusion Energy. I am going to bring with me all my enthusiasm and determination to achieve this goal.
My PhD project is titled “Characterising Plasma Ions in the MAST-U Divertor”, under the supervision of Professor James Bradley (University of Liverpool) and Dr James Harrison (CCFE). This project is concerned with determining the ion energy spectrum and species composition of the plasma in the MAST-U tokamak using a Retarding Field Energy Analyser (RFEA). This instrument, originally used on MAST, will help us to explore the role of the new baffling structures on the ions reaching divertor surfaces. In parallel, a Plasma Ion Mass Spectrometer will be developed for use on MAST-U, to measure the mass spectrum of ionic species in the edge plasma. These measurements are very useful in ascertaining the impurity content of the divertor plasma, both in attached and detached conditions and will aid us in the interpretation of data from the RFEA, which is sensitive to both bulk ions and impurities.