NPRE’s graduate students Felipe Bedoya and Hanna Schamis have been highlighted for their work at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) this year.

Felipe Bedoya was a visiting graduate student at PPPL during the last NSTX-U run period, during which he took thesis data with the Materials Analysis and Particle Probe (MAPP) developed at RSSEL.  Bedoya used the new diagnostic, MAPP, to insert graphite and molybdenum alloy (TZM) samples into the NSTX-U vacuum vessel for exposure during boronization and subsequent plasma operations.  The device enables scientists to decipher the chemical make-up of the surface of materials exposed to plasma, while keeping the materials in a vacuum. The research was published in the July issue of Review of Scientific Instruments, and was funded by the DOE Office of Science (Fusion Energy Sciences). For the complete article read: PPPL researchers successfully test new device that analyzes the surfaces of tokamak components within a vacuum

Hanna Schamis spent two summers as an intern in the Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) at PPPL. Schamis’ research this summer focused on an alloy of molybdenum (TZM), a plasma-facing material that will be used to line the divertor, a part of the machine that collects heat and particles from the plasma. Schamis used MAPP to conduct her experiment and analyze the effect of the plasma on the chemical composition of the TZM over time.

This is the first time measurements of this kind have been performed on a large fusion device like NSTX-U given the importance of surface chemistry and physics and is part of Prof Allain’s broad portfolio in  fusion PMI research.