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Biographies of Committee Members

MICHAEL MAUEL, Co-Chair, is a professor of applied physics at Columbia University. He received his B.S., M.S., and Sc.D. at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). While at MIT, Dr. Mauel was awarded the Fortesque Fellowship from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the Ernst A. Guillemin Thesis Award from MIT. Before joining Columbia in 1985, Dr. Mauel conducted postdoctoral research at MIT and conducted high-power electron cyclotron heating experiments at the Tara Tandem Mirror. His fields of interest include advanced tokamak operating regimes, feedback techniques to control tokamak instabilities, nonlinear turbulent transport in magnetized plasma including energetic particle modes, and the relationship between laboratory and space plasma physics. In 1995, Dr. Mauel was elected a fellow of the American Physical Society (APS). From 2000-2006, he was chair of the Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics at Columbia. In 2006, he was a Jefferson Science Fellow for the U.S. Department of State. Dr. Mauel has served as a member of several committees in the APS and served as chair of the APS Division of Plasma Physics from 2002-2003. He was president of the University Fusion Association from 1997-1998, co-chair of the 1999 Fusion Summer Study in Snowmass, chair of the U.S. International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) Forum in 2003, chair of the U.S. Burning Plasma Council from 2010-2013, and chair of the Plasma Science Committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine from 2012-2015. He served on several Department of Energy (DOE) Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee (FESAC) activities, including the FESAC Office of Fusion Energy Committee of Visitors (2003-2004), FESAC Fusion Major Facilities Panel

(2012-2013), and FESAC Fusion Priorities Panel (2003-2004 and 2012-2013). He also served as chair of the physics advisory committees for the National Spherical Tokamak Experiment (NSTX) at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) and the Alcator C-Mod experiment at MIT. Dr. Mauel received the Rose Award for Excellence in Fusion Engineering in 2000, the Teacher of the Year award from Columbia University’s School of Engineering and Applied Science, and Certificates of Appreciation from DOE (1989) and the U.S. Department of State (2007). Since 2016, Dr. Mauel has served as editor-in-chief of Physics of Plasmas.

MELVYN SHOCHET, Co-Chair, is the Kersten Distinguished Service Professor of Physics at the University of Chicago. Before joining the Enrico Fermi Institute at the University of Chicago in 1972, Dr. Shochet received his Ph.D. from Princeton University and his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania. His research involves interactions between elementary particles at the highest man-made energies. He is a founding member of the Collider Detector at Fermilab collaboration and served as the collaboration’s spokesperson from 1988-1995, including the period when nature’s heaviest constituent, the top quark, was discovered. For the past 15 years, Dr. Shochet has been a member of the ATLAS collaboration at CERN, which discovered the Higgs boson in 2012. He was a member of the High Energy Physics Advisory Panel (HEPAP) Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel (P5), and from 2005-2011, he served as chair of HEPAP. He also served on the Board on Physics and Astronomy Committee on Elementary Particle Physics from 1995-1998. He is a fellow of the APS, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS).

CHRISTINA A. BACK is an experimental physicist with expertise in the study of radiation in high energy density plasmas and the development of novel materials for fusion and fission. Currently, Dr. Back is the vice president of Nuclear Technologies and Materials at General Atomics and leads a group developing high-density uranium fuels and advanced fuel cladding materials. She received her B.S. in physics from Yale University in 1984 and earned her Ph.D. in plasma physics from the University of Florida in 1989. After a 2-year postdoctorate with the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) at the Ecole Polytechnique in France, Dr. Back spent 13 years at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in the Inertial Confinement Fusion and High Energy Density Science programs, specializing in radiation transport and spectroscopy. In 2005, Dr. Back moved to General Atomics, where she has worked on target production coordination, development of novel radiation sources, and development of new fuel materials for advanced nuclear reactor. She established a dedicated laboratory for research fabricating and characterizing new fission fuel prototypes, especially those for gas-cooled high-

temperature reactors. Dr. Back has served on many APS committees and has been elected an APS General Councillor. Other professional activities include serving on the National Academies Board of Physics and Astronomy Plasma Committee and as a member of the Committee to Review the Quality of Science and Engineering Research at DOE’s National Security Laboratories Phase II (2012). Dr. Back is a fellow of the APS.

RICCARDO BETTI is a professor of physics and mechanical engineering and of physics and astronomy, director of the Fusion Science Center of Extreme States of Matter and Fast Ignition, and a scientist at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics at the University of Rochester. Dr. Betti’s primary expertise is in the theory of high-temperature plasmas. He is a member of the interdisciplinary High Energy Density Plasma program at the University of Rochester Laboratory for Laser Energetics. Dr. Betti is a member of DOE FESAC and was vice chair of a recent DOE review of inertial fusion energy, as well as many other review panels. Dr. Betti is a fellow of the APS. He received his Ph.D. from MIT in 1992 in nuclear engineering.

IAN CHAPMAN is the CEO of the UK Atomic Energy Authority and head of the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy. Dr. Chapman’s primary research interests are in understanding and controlling macroscopic instabilities in fusion plasmas. He was previously head of tokamak science and led the stability program within tokamak science. Dr. Chapman has also held a number of international roles in fusion. He was a task force leader for the Joint European Torus from 2012 to 2014, and he was appointed a member of the program advisory committee for U.S. experiment National Spherical Tokamak Experiment Upgrade (NSTX-U) in 2013. Dr. Chapman has chaired international working groups for ITER and led work packages within the European Union fusion program. He received his Ph.D. in plasma physics from the Imperial College and M.Sci. in mathematics and physics from University of Durham.

CARY FOREST is a professor in the Physics Department at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Dr. Forest obtained his Ph.D. in astrophysical science-plasma physics from Princeton University in 1992. His research interests focus on understanding how electrical currents and magnetic fields are generated in fusion plasmas and in turbulent flows of liquid metals, with applications to astrophysical and terrestrial plasmas, basic plasmas, and fusion science. Dr. Forest spent 5 years working at General Atomics as a scientist, where his work focused on studies of plasma resistivity, noninductive current drive, radio frequency heating of plasmas, and magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) instabilities in tokamak plasmas. Dr. Forest has served as director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Physics Frontier Center for Magnetic Self-Organization. He served as chair of the APS Division of

Plasma Physics and is a fellow of the APS. He served as chair of the National Academies Plasma Science Committee (2003-2006) and as a member of the Committee to Review a Plan Prepared by the U.S. Burning Plasma Organization for U.S. Fusion Community Participation in the ITER Program.

T. KENNETH FOWLER is professor emeritus in the Department of Nuclear Engineering, University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley). Dr. Fowler received his B.E. in electrical engineering from Vanderbilt University in 1953, M.S. in physics from Vanderbilt in 1955, and Ph. D. in theoretical physics from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in 1957. Before joining the Berkeley faculty in 1988, he spent 30 years in fusion energy research at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), at General Atomics, and last at LLNL, where he served as an associate director of the laboratory and head of magnetic fusion energy research from 1970 to 1987. From 1987 to 1988, Dr. Fowler was U.S. Representative on the Working Group that initiated the ITER. He has served on numerous governmental and academic committees and served as chair of the Department of Nuclear Engineering at UC Berkeley from 1988 to 1994. Dr. Fowler was elected to the NAS in 1987. He is also a fellow of the California Council on Science and Technology that advises the governor and legislature on science important to the state. His honors include the Distinguished Service Citation from the University of Wisconsin in 1981 and the Berkeley Citation in 1995.

JEFFREY P. FREIDBERG is an emeritus professor of nuclear science and engineering at MIT and a senior researcher at the New York University Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences. Previously, Dr. Freidberg was the head of the Nuclear Science and Engineering Department at MIT. He also formerly served as the director of the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center. Dr. Freidberg earned his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn (now New York University Tandon School of Engineering).

RONALD M. GILGENBACH is Chihiro Kikuchi Collegiate Professor in the Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences Department at the University of Michigan. Dr. Gilgenbach is also a past associate editor of the journal Physics of Plasmas. In the 1970s, he was a member of the technical staff at Bell Labs, performed gyrotron research at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), and performed electron cyclotron heating experiments on the ISX-B tokamak at ORNL. Dr. Gilgenbach has collaborated in research with scientists at Air Force Research Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, NASA Glenn Research Center, Northrop-Grumman, L-3 Communications, General Motors Research Labs, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Fermilab, NRL, and Institute of High Current Electronics (Russia). He earned his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Columbia University and M.S. and B.S. at the University of Wisconsin.

WILLIAM HEIDBRINK is a professor of experimental plasma physics at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). After working as a staff member on the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) tokamak at PPPL and the DIII-D tokamak at General Atomics, he joined the UCI Physics Department in 1988. Dr. Heidbrink studies high-energy “fast” ions in magnetic fusion experiments. Instabilities that are driven unstable by the free energy in the fast-ion population are a major area of study. Other important topics include diagnostic development and measurements of fast-ion confinement. The research is conducted at two facilities. The DIII-D tokamak in San Diego is the leading magnetic fusion facility in the United States. Dr. Heidbrink earned his B.A. degree from the University of California, San Diego, and Ph.D. from Princeton University.

MARK HERRMANN is the director of the National Ignition Facility (NIF), the world’s largest laser, at LLNL. NIF is a key experimental facility for the science-based Stockpile Stewardship Program. Dr. Herrmann spent 9 years at Sandia National Laboratories, where he studied the use of large magnetic fields generated by the Z facility to create and control high energy density matter. While at Sandia, he held a number of positions, including director of the Pulsed Power Sciences Center. Dr. Herrmann began his career as a physicist at LLNL, where his research focused on inertial confinement fusion and high energy density science. He has been awarded a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the APS Award for Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation in Plasma Physics, and the Fusion Power Associates Excellence in Fusion Engineering Award. Dr. Herrmann is a fellow of the APS. He received his undergraduate degrees from Washington University, St. Louis, and his Ph.D. from the Program in Plasma Physics at Princeton University.

FRANK JENKO is a professor at the University of Texas, Austin, and director at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics. Dr. Jenko has been serving as a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and director of the Plasma Science and Technology Institute (PSTI) at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA); as a member of the editorial boards of Computer Physics Communications, Journal of Plasma Physics, and New Journal of Physics; as a co-director of the International Helmholtz Graduate School for Plasma Physics; and as a member of the steering committee of the Max-Planck/Princeton Center for Plasma Physics. He co-pioneered the development and application of grid-based numerical techniques for the investigation of kinetic turbulence in magnetized plasmas. Since then, his computer simulation code GENE has been playing a key role for analyzing both laboratory and natural plasmas, standing at the forefront of high-performance computing. Dr. Jenko obtained his Ph.D. in physics from the Technische Universität München (TUM).

STANLEY KAYE is the principle research physicist and deputy director of research on the NSTX-U at DOE Plasma Physics Laboratory at Princeton University. Dr. Kaye was recently named a fellow by the APS. He is considered a pioneering investigator of the characteristics of strongly heated plasmas confined by magnetic fields. Dr. Kaye received a bachelor’s degree in physics and math from Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, a master’s degree in geophysics and space physics from the University of Washington, Seattle, and a Ph.D. in space plasma physics from UCLA.

MITSURU KIKUCHI is a supreme researcher at the Naka Fusion Institute, Fusion Research and Development Directorate, Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA). Dr. Kikuchi joined JAEA in 1981 as a research associate. He has held visiting and guest professorships at Osaka University (Japan), Southwestern Institute of Physics (China), the Modern Physics Institute at Fudan University (China), and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He has served as chair of the board of editors of Nuclear Fusion. He is chair of the Division of Plasma Physics of the Association of Asia Pacific Physical Societies. Dr. Kikuchi received his doctor of philosophy in engineering from the University of Tokyo in 1981 at JAEA.

SUSANA REYES is a nuclear engineer at Berkeley Lab with over 17 years of experience in international fusion projects. Until recently, Dr. Reyes led LLNL fusion energy science efforts for safety and tritium research, as well as supporting the NIF Directorate in various project engineering and strategic planning activities. She earned an M.Sci. in power engineering from the Polytechnic University of Madrid in 1998 and a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from the UNED University, Madrid, in 2001. Dr. Reyes joined the LLNL Fusion Energy Program in 1999 to work on the safety analysis of inertial fusion energy power plant designs. Since then, she has participated in the design, construction, and operation of a variety of fusion research projects, including the NIF in LLNL, and the ITER Organization in Cadarache (France), where she supported the project through the coordination of safety analyses and associated documentation in preparation for ITER licensing. Her current interests are focused on the safety and environmental aspects of fusion and the fuel cycle challenges for future fusion power plants. Dr. Reyes is the recipient of the 2012 American Nuclear Society (ANS) Mary Jane Oestmann Professional Women’s Achievement Award and the 2015 Fusion Power Associates Excellence in Fusion Engineering Award for her contributions to the safety and environmental aspects of both magnetic fusion energy and inertial fusion energy facilities. She recently served as chair of the ANS Fusion Energy Division.

HON. C. PAUL ROBINSON is the vice chairman of the board of directors of Advanced Reactor Concepts (ARC). He was the U.S. ambassador to Russia under

President Ronald Reagan. He spent most of his career at Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories, becoming president of Sandia Corporation in 1995. Dr. Robinson was elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) in 1998 and serves on the Committee on Membership. He received the Outstanding Public Service Medal from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Smyth Nuclear Statesman Award from the ANS, the APS Pake Prize, the New Mexico Governor’s Distinguished Citizen Award, and the DOE Secretary’s Gold Award. He has also served as a trustee of the Kazakhstan Nonproliferation Institute. Dr. Robinson earned a B.S. in physics from Christian Brothers College, a Ph.D. in physics from Florida State University, and he received an honorary doctorate from Christian Brothers University.

PHILIP SNYDER is the director of the Theory and Computational Science Group for the General Atomics Energy and Advanced Concepts Group. Dr. Snyder joined the General Atomics Theory and Computational Science Division in 1999, and he became manager of the Turbulence and Transport Group in 2010. His recent research has focused on the edge region of fusion plasmas, particularly the physics of the edge transport barrier (“pedestal”) and edge localized modes in tokamaks. Dr. Snyder has served as chair of the Sherwood Executive Committee and the Edge Coordinating Committee, and he is currently principal investigator (PI) of the Edge Simulation Laboratory project. He is a fellow of the APS (2010) and a recipient of the Rosenbluth Award for Fusion Theory (2004). Dr. Snyder studied computational physics at Yale University, receiving his B.S. degree, and then earned his Ph.D. in plasma physics from Princeton University.

AMY WENDT is a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where she has been a faculty member since 1990. Dr. Wendt’s research focus is ionized gas discharges for technological applications. Understanding the behavior of low-temperature plasmas, how they interact with materials substrates, and implications for process and system design are the primary goals of her research. Her research group conducts experimental studies with activities including diagnostic development, plasma source design, and process development. Dr. Wendt is the co-director of the Women in Science and Engineering Leadership Institute at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and received the 2015 College of Engineering Equity and Diversity Award. She served on the National Academies Plasma Science Committee from 2007 to 2014, on the DOE FESAC from 2017 to 2020, and as chair of the Gaseous Electronics Conference Executive Committee from 2012 to 2014. Dr. Wendt received M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from the UC Berkeley, and a B.S. in engineering from the California Institute of Technology.

BRIAN D. WIRTH is a professor and Governor’s Chair of Computational Nuclear Engineering in the Department of Nuclear Engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, which he joined in July 2010. Dr. Wirth spent 4 years in the High-Performance Computational Materials Science Group at LLNL, where he led efforts to investigate the microstructural stability of structural materials in nuclear environments. In 2002, he joined the faculty at UC Berkeley, as an assistant professor of nuclear engineering and was promoted to associate professor in 2006. Dr. Wirth has received a number of awards, including the 2007 Fusion Power Associates David J. Rose Excellence in Fusion Engineering Award and the 2003 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. Dr. Wirth received a B.S. in nuclear engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Santa Barbara.