Meet Our 2024 Fusion Fellows
The achievement of ignition by LLNL in December 2022 was groundbreaking. Moving beyond that to the nation’s decadal vision of commercial fusion energy will require, among other things, creating pathways and opportunities for the next generation to work in fusion. In 2023, the Foundation launched an inaugural Fusion Fellowship opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students to work with the Inertial Fusion Energy team at LLNL. This summer, LLF was pleased to bring two more fusion fellows to the Lab.
Chenkai Mao is a Ph.D. student at Stanford University in Electrical Engineering. During his summer 2024 fusion fellowship, he worked with Lab mentor Dr. Xiaoxing Xia on Micro and Nanoscale 3D printing. Micro and Nanoscale 3D printing opens the door for applications such as drug delivery, chip-scale cooling, terahertz (THz) meta-materials, and materials for clean energy. Most existing methods and industrial machinery suffer from low throughput. In Chenkai’s projects, he used (1) High numerical aperture Metalens arrays and (2) Dual-color lightsheet volumetric additive manufacturing (VAM) techniques to realize high throughput nano-3D-printing systems. In his first project, Chenkai improved the two-photon-lithography process by orders of magnitude allowing the production of micron scale shapes that were previously all but impossible. In his second project, he increased the axial printing resolution and, utilizing a Digital-Micromirror-Device, he projected image patterns for fast printing at each layer. He chose to come to LLNL because of its Advanced Manufacturing Laboratory and his love of novel 3D-printing technologies. His career goal is to improve nano-3D printing technology with higher-resolution and throughput, enabling advanced manufacturing for applications including clean energy. For Chenkai, “The fellowship has allowed me to focus on research and introduced me to the advanced manufacturing ecosystem and community.”
Fun fact about Chenkai: He likes snowboarding, a cappella singing and his cat.
Jaya Sicard is an undergraduate at the University of Neveda, Reno, majoring in Physics/Engineering Physics with a minor in Astronomy/Mathematics. As a Fusion Fellow working with Dr. Raspberry Simpson, her project focused on development of an activation-based diagnostic for measurement of laser-driven ion sources in support of ion fast ignition (IFI). IFI is a promising method for high-gain inertial fusion energy, using laser-driven ion beams to heat pre-compressed fusion fuel. Understanding the focusing behavior of heavier ions compared to protons is crucial, motivating the need for a diagnostic tool to measure the spatial profiles of both ion types separately. Using Monte-Carlo based particle-tracking software, Jaya developed a diagnostic to analyze the spatial profile of laser-generated ions using nuclear activation. Jaya plans to earn her PhD in Physics and continue as a researcher in the High Energy Density field. Her passion for the Lab’s Inertial Fusion Energy research and commitment to national security brought her to Livermore. Jaya is grateful to LLF and LLNL for her experience: “The LLF fellowship has allowed me to conduct novel research in ion fast ignition and further develop my career in high energy density physics and prepared me for graduate school applications.”
Fun fact about Jaya: She likes traveling, reading and playing with animals.
Livermore Lab Foundation provides fellowships and research stipends to foster the academic and professional journey of undergraduate and graduate students, with a focus on those who are historically underrepresented in the field, who have low-income/financial need, and/or who are first-generation college students. LLF fellowships are made possible through academic and organizational partnerships and the generous tax-deductible donations of sponsors, businesses and individuals.
To meet the other 2024 Foundation Fellows, learn about past Fellows and keep informed of upcoming opportunities, please visit LLF’s STEM webpage.
