Swadesh Mahajan
Research Professor, University of Texas at Austin, Distinguished Professor at SNU , India
Bio:
After education and training at the University of Delhi, Maryland and Princeton University, joined the Institute of Fusion Studies ( earlier Fusion Research center) in !977. Have worked in broad areas of physics centered on the dynamics of hot plasmas ( classical and quantum) – Plasma Equilibrium and Stability, Nuclear Fusion, Wane-Wave and Wave-Particle Processes, in astrophysics, in cosmology , in developing a unified picture of classical forces. During the course of a long and varied research career, have discovered several new phenomena and effects, and invented new approaches to fusion and fusion-fission hybrids. A fellow of the APS and TWAS, have conducted several International Schools for IAEA and ICTP at Trieste. Recently he and a two colleagues from UT have founded a Nuclear Fusion Company – ExoFusion- He is the chief scientific advisor.
Abstract:
The pursuit of Fusion on earth has been, until recently, led largely by government-funded universities and labs; now, private capital is also entering the picture as the goal of Commercially Viable Fusion (CVF) is increasingly important for an energy-starved and growing world population. As private interests enter the picture, the tendency is to think that the "problem" has been reduced to a technical one requiring only engineering solutions. While fusion engineering is highly challenging, the pursuit of CVF will need continuous input of fundamental scientific ideas. While the goals can be societal and commercial, the pathway to getting there must be led by physics. We will explore the current vast fusion landscape, and attempt to make a case why new physics will be crucial to make fusion energy affordable.
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