Research Programs in
Plasmas and Fusion Technology

General Description

The University of Wisconsin - Madison is a world leader in plasmas and fusion technology, with experimental and theoretical programs in several departments. A unique opportunity is afforded for individual research as well as cross-disciplinary collaboration. Research includes toroidal magnetic confinement, electrostatic confinement, plasma sources, magnetohydrodynamics, microturbulence, high-frequency heating, free electron sources of millimeter waves, waves and instabilities, space plasmas, numerical simulation, kinetic theory, turbulence and transport, microwave diagnostics and devices, spectroscopic diagnostics, laser-plasma interactions, and fusion reactor engineering studies. The University of Wisconsin - Madison is also the site of the National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center for Plasma-Aided Manufacturing.

The University of Wisconsin - Madison has the widest variety of toroidal magnetic confinement devices on any campus in the United States: tokamaks, reversed-field pinches, and stellarators. Other facilities include high-power RF systems, high-energy laser systems, and radiation damage and lithium technology laboratories. Computational resources include CRAY C-90 computers along with a series of high-performance workstations.

Information for Prospective Graduate Students

Course and research efforts lead to M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in each of the sponsoring departments. A basic curriculum includes numerous cross-listed courses in which fundamental background in both theory and experiment is offered to all graduate workers in this area. Various forms of financial aid are available for qualified students wishing to participate in this program.

Further information may be obtained by writing to any of the faculty listed or to the Chair of the Department of your choice, at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, Madison, WI 53706.

You may apply for admission and financial aid at any time, and begin graduate study at the beginning of any semester or the Summer Session. The deadline for receipt of completed applications for fellowships is January 15 preceding the fall semester of entry. Applications for teaching or research assistantships are due by February 1.