Brooks Receives Scholarship to the 2017 ITER International School (IIS)

John Brooks, a Plasma Physics graduate student in Prof. Michael Mauel's group,  recently returned from the week-long, 9th ITER International School (IIS) in southern France, which he received a United States Burning Plasma Organization (USBPO) scholarship to attend. 

The goal of IIS is to prepare young scientists for working in the field of nuclear fusion and its application to research topics associated with the ITER project.  The focus of this year’s IIS was on the physics of plasma disruptions and their active control methods, and it included a trip to see ITER, the world’s largest magnetic confinement plasma physics experiment, which is under construction and is projected to be operational in 2025.

“This trip was one of the best professional experiences I’ve had,” says John.  “The material taught was targeted at physicists of my level, and it made me aware of many of the other issues relevant to the field that we don’t focus on here at Columbia.  I also met and became friends with many of my peers in the field and have no doubt that the combination of the material I learned and the networking will greatly help my post-graduate career.”