REU Site: Plasma Physics, Plasma Astrophysics, and Fusion at Columbia

This project supports a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Site dedicated to plasma physics. Covering both plasma astrophysics and magnetically confined plasma and fusion research, this REU Site will bring together the capabilities of both the Applied Physics and Astrophysics departments at Columbia University to provide a compelling intellectual environment and strong cohort experience for six to eight summer undergraduate students interested in this vibrant sub-field.

We will engage students in primarily physics majors in both experimental and computational research activities. Students will be supported for a ten-week summer program to carry out a variety of research tasks relating to the aforementioned topics, enable them to gain direct exposure to cutting edge research in plasma physics. Through these efforts the project will contribute to the broader development of the nation’s scientific workforce.

This REU Site will be the first and thus far only REU Site dedicated to plasma physics and fusion research. Both fundamental astrophysical plasma physics and applied fusion-inspired plasma physics research will be conducted within this REU site. The student projects will be linked by the common language of plasma physics: magneto-hydrodynamics, plasma waves, and kinetic theory.

The cohort-level experience will center on these common elements. Columbia’s program supports a range of on-campus experiments, including three-dimensional plasma confinement devices called ‘stellarators’, two toroidally axisymmetric devices called ‘tokamaks’, and a burgeoning fusion clean energy technology program. Columbia’s magnetic confinement theoretical and computational program involves the study of plasma equilibrium, stability, and transport processes.

Columbia's plasma astrophysics program studies plasma phenomena occurring in a broad range of astrophysical systems ranging from the Sun and the solar wind up to high energy relativistic systems like pulsars, active galactic nuclei, accretion disks, and supernovae. Students will be assigned to either experimentally-oriented (hands-on) or computationally-oriented projects across these areas.

As a cohort, all students will be expected to engage with one-another and regularly communicate their findings to their peers.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.