Associate Professor David Schaffner, chair of the Physics Department, has been named a Kavli Fellow by The National Academy of Sciences (NAS).
As a new fellow, Schaffner recently participated in NAS’ 33rd annual symposium on March 2-4, 2023, which brought together outstanding young scientists to discuss exciting advances and opportunities in a broad range of disciplines. A committee of NAS members selects participants for the symposia from among young researchers who have already made recognized contributions to science.
At Bryn Mawr, Schaffner runs The Bryn Mawr Plasma Laboratory.
The BMPL is an intersection of the study of plasma physics, turbulence, and fusion energy. The Bryn Mawr Experiment (BMX) is the flagship experiment of the lab, featuring a plasma-gun generated turbulent plasma launched into a flux-conserving cylindrical chamber. With long current discharge pulses, the experiment can simulate constant injection of turbulent plasma much like a traditional wind-tunnel but with magnetized plasmas as the fluid under study.
The BMPL is highly active in the Project and is a founding member of the Small College Plasma Consortium.
Research in the BMPL is supported by an as well as funding from the NSF-DOE Partnership program in Basic Plasma Science and Engineering and NSF CSSI. Past funding has also been received from DOE ARPA-E.