UW–Madison and SHINE Technologies participated in the annual Fusion Day on Capitol Hill last week. The advocacy day focuses on investment in the Department of Energy’s Office of Science Fusion Energy Science program. Wisconsin was represented by Steven Burger, Vice President of Business Development at SHINE Technologies, and a strong UW–Madison contingent made up of Steffi Diem, Assistant Professor of Engineering Physics, Cary Forest, Professor of Experimental Physics, Carolyn Schaefer, PhD student in Engineering Physics, and Paul Wilson, Professor of Nuclear Engineering, and chair of the Department of Engineering Physics. The group met with staff from throughout the delegation and discussed the importance of fusion energy and the advances in fusion research happening in Wisconsin.
Established in the early 1960’s, the plasma and fusion research program at UW–Madison is one of the largest and most widely respected university research and graduate education programs in the United States. The UW–Madison program includes a portfolio of significant experiments, including collaborations with leading international facilities, combined with analytical research into the theoretical and engineering aspects of fusion power.
A unique feature of the UW–Madison multi-departmental program is the array of experimental facilities that allow students to develop hands-on skills for the design, construction and operation of large experiments, and then translate that experience to research on leading international facilities around the world.