#3 January 2026

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Newsletter #3

January 2026

MagNetUS Newsletter #3

JANUARY 2026

Welcome to the Third MagNetUS Newsletter!

It’s a pleasure to welcome you to the third issue of the MagNetUS Quarterly Newsletter and to reflect on a season full of energy, collaboration, and community momentum.

We’ve just wrapped up a very successful APS Division of Plasma Physics Annual Meeting in Long Beach, California. Not even the rare Southern California cold front—with its heavy rain—could slow down our community. Our MagNetUS gathering on Monday evening was a particular highlight. It was wonderful to see so many familiar and new faces, and to witness the growing interest in foundational plasma research. During the meeting, we heard updates from our collaborative research facilities; from FLARE (PPPL), which plans to join the MagNetUS ecosystem; from Riverside Research, representing private-sector engagement; and from the CHIMERAS working group. These exchanges underscore the vibrancy and diversity of our community.

A special thank-you goes to the UCLA BaPSF team for organizing the Thursday evening facility tours. Despite the weather, attendance was impressive. The opportunity to walk through the BaPSF labs—and inside a tokamak—is something even seasoned plasma scientists don’t experience every day. It was a memorable and inspiring event for everyone.

The Joint Call for Runtime Proposals has entered the review stage and is progressing well. We also continue to explore ways MagNetUS can support additional affiliated facilities that were not part of this year’s formal call. More news on these efforts will follow soon.

Finally, we are actively updating the list of Summer Schools in Plasma Science on the MagNetUS website. Please share these opportunities widely with your students and postdocs—summer programs remain one of the most effective pathways for building skills, networks, and future collaborations.

Thank you for being part of the MagNetUS community and for contributing to its continued growth.

Dmitri Orlov

Chair, MagNetUS Executive Committee (2025–26)

Highlights from the UCLA BaPSF Thursday evening facility tour. APS DPP attendees explored a wide range of experimental platforms - including LAPD, ETPD, Small Plasma Device, and Phoenix Laser Lab - demonstrating the breadth of plasma science enabled at BaPSF and the strength of its user-facility model.

Executive Committee Nominations

As part of our ongoing effort to maintain a strong and inclusive leadership structure, the MagNetUS Executive Committee nomination period is coming to a close. These elected positions play an important role in shaping the direction of the network and supporting the broader magnetized plasma research community.

The positions open in this election cycle are:

Chair-Elect (Vice Chair) – 3-year term
Annual Meeting Chair – 1-year term
User Base Working Group Chair – 2-year term
Outreach & Education Working Group Chair – 2-year term

Please note that the Software and Facilities Working Group Chairs (currently held by Jimmy Juno and Peiyun Shi, respectively) are continuing in their roles through next year and are not part of this election cycle.

If you are interested in being nominated, have questions about any of the roles, or would like to discuss the process, please reach out to Garima, Noah, or Dmitri. Voting ballots will be distributed soon, and we encourage all members of the MagNetUS community to participate in the upcoming election.

Your engagement in this process helps ensure a representative, active, and resilient MagNetUS leadership.

Community Highlights

Highlight: Turbulence and Transport in Magnetic Mirror Plasmas on the Large Plasma Device

A recent paper by Phil Travis and Troy Carter in the Journal of Plasma Physics reports experimental measurements of turbulence and cross-field particle transport in magnetic mirror configurations using the Large Plasma Device (LAPD) at UCLA. The study examines how plasma profiles, fluctuations, and transport change when axial magnetic field nonuniformity is introduced in a linear device.

The experiments used multiple mirror ratios (from M = 1 to M = 2.68) and several mirror-cell lengths, enabled by LAPD’s flexible magnetic geometry. Langmuir probes and magnetic probes were employed to measure density, temperature, plasma potential, and magnetic field fluctuations. From these measurements, the fluctuation-driven ExB particle flux was calculated using a spectral decomposition technique. Two-point correlation methods were used to infer perpendicular wavenumbers and two-dimensional spatial structure.

The measurements show that density and temperature profiles in the plasma core remain similar across mirror configurations, while the plasma expands radially as the mirror ratio increases. Density fluctuation power and cross-field particle flux decrease with increasing mirror ratio, with the largest changes occurring in the region of strongest density gradient. Fluctuation spectra exhibit drift-like and drift-Alfven features, with reduced fluctuation amplitudes in mirror configurations compared to the uniform-field case. Magnetic fluctuation measurements show spectral features coincident with electrostatic fluctuations.

The paper presents detailed measurements of profiles, fluctuation spectra, wavenumber distributions, and transport quantities across mirror configurations, providing a dataset for turbulence and transport studies in linear magnetic mirror geometries.

The full article is available at: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-plasma-physics/article/turbulence-and-transport-in-mirror-geometries-in-the-large-plasma-device/86136A094B5C1EC81FD249FCA5C199F0

This paper is part of the Papers from MagNetUS special collection in the Journal of Plasma Physics: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-plasma-physics/collections/papers-from-magnetus

The Papers from MagNetUS special issue is currently open for submissions. We encourage members of the MagNetUS community to consider publishing their research in this collection to increase visibility and showcase work conducted across MagNetUS-affiliated facilities.

Cross-field fluctuation-driven ExB particle flux measured at the LAPD midplane for several magnetic mirror ratios. The particle flux is calculated from correlated density and potential fluctuations and is normalized by plasma circumference to account for changes in plasma size with mirror ratio. Data are taken in the region of strongest density gradient. From P. Travis and T. Carter, Journal of Plasma Physics (2025).

Featured Plasma Image

High Density Helicon Plasma in the PHASMA facility. The blue core Helicon source region with plasma density ~3E13 cc and 3.5 long plasma column ~ 1E12 cc in target region. (Images by Sonu Yadav, West Virginia University)

Please send your images (with a short description) to orlov@magnetus.net. The recommended image format is TIF, JPG, or PNG; the minimum file width is 800 px.

Early-career Plasma Scientist Highlight

Dr. Ami DuBois is a Research Physicist in the Plasma Physics Division at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in Washington, D.C. Her research focuses on connecting laboratory studies of plasma compression and velocity shear-driven waves to the dynamics occurring in thin current sheets that contribute to magnetic reconnection in space plasmas. She is also interested in investigations of orbital debris detection using nonlinear plasma signatures as well as the development of novel diagnostics for use in the laboratory and space. Ami earned her B.S. in Physics from the Florida Institute of Technology in 2007 and a PhD in Physics from Auburn University in 2013. Her PhD research experimentally demonstrated that ExB velocity shear can produce broadband spectral signatures commonly observed in compressed plasma boundary layers, providing a physical mechanism for Broadband Electrostatic Noise observed by satellites. Following her PhD, Ami spent 3 years as a Post-Doctoral Research Associate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she studied electron energization during magnetic reconnection events in the Madison Symmetric Torus (MST). Ami is actively engaged in service within the American Physical Society (APS) Division of Plasma Physics (DPP) and mentoring through the APS Career Mentoring Fellows Program and the DPP Career Counseling and Resume Help Desk.

Did you always imagine yourself becoming a scientist, or did your interests evolve over time?

I always knew I wanted a career in engineering or science. However, pursuing an advanced degree to become a scientist wasn’t really on my radar until late in my undergraduate studies. An internship at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, where I investigated methods to mitigate Martian dust accumulation on solar panels, sparked my initial interest in planetary physics. It wasn’t until my second year at Auburn University that I discovered plasma physics, which led to a shift in my career focus. I think it’s normal for interests and career goals to evolve, a point I try to emphasize when speaking with students.

How do you try and mentor or support students and peers who are early in their careers?

I believe mentoring and supporting early-career individuals is a big part of being a scientist. I will often work with summer interns at NRL, providing experiences ranging from assisting with equipment installation and learning to restring our plasma sources to code development and running their own plasma experiments. At conferences, I make sure to introduce students and early-career individuals to people I know to help open up future research and career opportunities – a practice inspired by my own positive mentorship experiences in graduate school. I also mentor through the APS Career Mentoring Fellows Program, giving talks on diverse career paths for physics graduates. My longstanding involvement with the DPP Career Counseling and Resume Help Desk allows me to provide personalized guidance to students and early career scientists, addressing topics from resume/CV tailoring to choosing a graduate advisor and anything in between.

What was one of the hardest moments in your research journey so far, and what helped you push through it?

Overcoming a lifelong fear of public speaking was one of the hardest things I’ve done in my research career. This fear and anxiety reached their peak in the weeks leading up to my PhD defense. To deal with this, I decided to practice my defense presentation nightly for weeks. My dog, Boomer, would sit in the chair in front of me, listening intently with his cute head tilts. This really helped ease my fear and build up my confidence. While my fear of public speaking hasn’t entirely disappeared, it is manageable now, and every presentation since has been practiced in front of Boomer.

Upcoming Events / Deadlines

Plasma-Physics & Related Summer Schools 2026 (regularly updated list is at https://sites.google.com/magnetus.net/magnetus/summer-schools)

SHIELD Summer School in Plasma Processes at the Edge of the Solar System, June 1st – 5th, 2026 at Boston University, Boston, MA - https://shielddrivecenter.com/shield-summer-school/
FTPP Summer Internships (International Space Weather Camp (ISWC), Corporate Internship Plasma Training in Alabama (CIPTA), South Eastern Research Experiences for Undergraduates (SE REU), Regional Introduction to Plasma Physics (RIPP)) - https://alabamaphysics.com/internships/
Discovery Science Center Summer School for Matter at Extreme Conditions in the Laboratory and the Cosmos - June 1-5, 2026, the Center for Matter at Atomic Pressures (CMAP), a National Science Foundation Physics Frontiers Center, at the University of Rochester - https://cmap.rochester.edu/education-outreach/ug-summer/
US DoE Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships (SULI) - https://science.osti.gov/wdts/suli
Research Opportunities for Undergraduates (REU) within Plasma Physics, Plasma Astrophysics, and Fusion at Columbia - https://fusion.columbia.edu/reu-site
IFE-STAR: SURE - https://ifestar.org/uploads/IFE-Summer-Program-Flyer-2026-lower-res.pdf
3rd ML/AI for Fusion Energy Summer School, College of William and Mary - June 1-12, 2026 - https://ai4fusion-wmschool.github.io/summer2026
High Energy Density Summer School -Foundations of High Energy Density Physics, University of Michigan - July 27th – August 5th, 2026 - https://hedss.engin.umich.edu/
5th United States Low Temperature Plasma Summer School, North Carolina State University, June 15 – 19, 2026, - https://mipse.umich.edu/summer_school_2026.php
The University of New Hampshire REU in Earth, Oceans, and Space, June 1 – August 7, 2026 - https://eos.unh.edu/opportunities/earth-oceans-space-reu-program
2026 NASA Heliophysics Summer School - Boulder, Colorado, July 21 - 29, 2026. https://heliophysics.ucar.edu/summer-school
NSF/GPAP summer school on plasma physics for astrophysicists - Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, June 1 - 5, 2026 - https://www.gpapschool.com/
The Argonne Training Program on Extreme-Scale Computing (ATPESC) Extreme-scale training for extreme-scale science 2026 - July 26 — August 7, 2025, St. Charles, IL - https://extremecomputingtraining.anl.gov/
ZEUS and Plasma Physics (ZaPP) Summer Undergraduate Research Program, University of Michigan, May 25 – August 2, 2026 - https://zeus.engin.umich.edu/education/undergraduate/

2025 Joint Call for Runtime Proposals

The 2025 Joint Call for Runtime Proposals was released earlier this year to allow more time for eligible teams to prepare proposals for collaborative research across participating frontier plasma science facilities. Review of the submitted proposals is now underway. We’re excited to see the creativity and breadth of the research ideas coming from our community.

More information: https://sites.google.com/view/2025-magnetus-joint-call

MagNetUS Tutorial Webinar Series

We continue to expand our online webinar tutorial series, which is aimed at bridging the gap between textbook material and hands-on research practice. These tutorials are designed to be educational and broadly accessible, with a particular focus on students, postdocs, and early-career researchers. We expect to host tutorials approximately once per month, depending on speaker availability.

Since launching the series in May with the inaugural tutorial “Foundations of Machine Learning for Physicists” by Nat Mathews (University of Maryland), the series has grown to include several practical, skill-focused sessions. Recent tutorials include two live coding workshops by Dr. Nick Murphy on Python software development:

Creating Your First Python Package with uv, introducing the fast Python package and project manager uv, and demonstrating how to structure and manage Python projects ranging from simple scripts to full libraries.
Writing Your First Software Test with pytest, an introduction to automated testing using pytest, focusing on how to write reliable and reusable tests for scientific software.

We have recently added two new tutorials to the series:

Plasma Diagnostics, Part 1: Intrusive Methods — Practical Insights and Subtleties
Speaker: Dr. Jia Han
YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhVlL9DLdKQ
- - This tutorial focuses on intrusive plasma diagnostics, including electrostatic, magnetic, and resonator-type probes. The session provides an overview of diagnostic principles and underlying theory, with an emphasis on practical considerations such as sheath and magnetic-field effects, interpretation of non-ideal current–voltage characteristics, and common experimental challenges including grounding, RF interference, and probe contamination. The tutorial highlights how to assess data reliability and apply probe diagnostics effectively in laboratory experiments.

Lessons Learned from Four UW–Madison Fusion Experiments on Vacuum Hygiene
Speaker: Dr. Doug Endrizzi
YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4T376qoJls
- - This tutorial addresses the often underemphasized topic of vacuum hygiene in fusion experiments. Drawing on experience from four University of Wisconsin–Madison fusion devices (MST, WHAM, Pegasus, and HSX), the talk discusses practical strategies for maintaining good vacuum performance and controlling impurities. The tutorial highlights how neutral density and high-Z impurities can limit confinement and temperature, and summarizes lessons learned across multiple experimental programs.

All recordings are available on the MagNetUS YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@MagNetUSplasma
We encourage you to watch, subscribe, and share these tutorials—especially with your students!

Have an idea for a future tutorial? Want to suggest a speaker (or volunteer yourself)? Please use this form to submit ideas: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScIN0yxYlL3XGZSktiNWbQQ_UVGvTHDopDL70eRE6jxo5eKzA/viewform

We look forward to your input and hope you enjoy this growing resource!

Facility Highlights and Updates

OpenStar Junior Levitated Dipole Experiment

The OpenStar Junior experiment [1] is a levitated dipole plasma device operated by OpenStar Technologies in Wellington, New Zealand. Junior is designed to study plasma confinement and transport in dipole magnetic field geometries and to serve as a testbed for advanced high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnet and power-supply technologies relevant to dipole-based plasma devices.

The experiment is housed in a 5.2 m diameter stainless-steel vacuum vessel and features a levitated toroidal core magnet producing a dipole magnetic field. The core magnet is a second-generation REBCO HTS magnet capable of generating magnetic fields up to approximately 5.6 T at the windings. Unlike earlier levitated dipole experiments, Junior integrates a high-temperature superconducting transformer-rectifier (“flux pump”) directly onboard the core magnet, allowing magnet current to be maintained during levitation without external current leads. A separate top magnet provides the asymmetric magnetic field required for stable levitation of the core magnet.

Plasma production in Junior is achieved using electron cyclotron resonance heating, with microwave power currently provided at 2.45 GHz and plans for additional heating frequencies in future campaigns. The magnetic configuration allows operation with either a limiter-defined plasma boundary or a magnetic separatrix, providing flexibility in setting the last closed flux surface. Initial plasma experiments were conducted with the core magnet mechanically supported, with full levitated operation planned for subsequent experimental campaigns.

The diagnostic suite on Junior includes magnetic flux loops for equilibrium and pressure reconstruction, microwave interferometry for line-integrated density measurements, Langmuir probes for edge plasma measurements, visible-light imaging, and a range of X-ray detectors for energetic electron diagnostics. The absence of interlocking external coils provides extensive access to the plasma, enabling flexible diagnostic placement and future upgrades.

Experimental data from Junior are made available to collaborators through MDSplus, with remote access provided under a collaboration agreement. This data infrastructure also includes access to archival datasets from the Levitated Dipole Experiment (LDX), enabling analysis across multiple dipole experiments using a common data framework.

In addition to its role as a confinement physics experiment, Junior serves as a platform for developing and testing HTS magnet technologies, power-supply concepts, and plasma diagnostics relevant to future dipole devices. The facility builds on the scientific heritage of earlier dipole experiments, including LDX, RT-1, and Mini-RT, while incorporating new engineering approaches enabled by advances in high-temperature superconductors.

Additional information on the OpenStar Junior experiment can be found at: https://sites.google.com/magnetus.net/magnetus/affiliated-facilities-and-experiments/openstar-junior-levitated-dipole-experiment

[1] C. S. Chisholm, T. Berry, D. T. Garnier et al., Design and initial results from the “Junior” Levitated Dipole Experiment, Fusion Engineering and Design, 223 (2026) 115551. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S092037962500746X

Figure:
(top left) A photograph of the 5.2 m wide vacuum vessel for the Junior experiment.
(bottom left) A color photograph of the plasma
(right top) A side view schematic of the Junior experiment showing the vacuum vessel, the core and top magnets, calculated equilibrium flux contours, and a subset of diagnostics. The first and last closed flux surfaces are shown as dashed blue lines. Electron cyclotron resonance heating contours at 2.45 GHz, 6.4 GHz, and 10.5 GHz are shown as orange, red, and brown lines, respectively. The resonance frequencies are directly proportional to the nominal magnetic field magnitude, resulting in lower resonance frequencies as the magnetic field magnitude decreases moving away from the core magnet.
(botom right) A top-view schematic of the Junior experiment showing the vacuum vessel, the core magnet, and a subset of diagnostics

Community Contributions Wanted

We’re always eager to highlight news, accomplishments, and perspectives from across the MagNetUS community in each issue of the newsletter. If you have any of the following, we encourage you to share them with us:

Recent publications, preprints, or notable research results
Student awards, fellowships, or professional recognitions
Open job postings, internships, graduate positions, or postdoctoral opportunities
Upcoming events, deadlines, workshops, or community initiatives

In addition, we welcome short opinion or perspective pieces on topics of interest to the MagNetUS community, including (but not limited to) workforce development, science funding, education and training, and the role of fundamental plasma science in advancing plasma technologies and applications.

Please send submissions or inquiries to orlov@magnetus.net. Your contributions help keep the MagNetUS community connected, informed, and engaged, and help showcase the breadth of work and ideas across our network.

Quick Links

MagNetUS Website https://magnetus.net
MagNetUS 2025 Annual Meeting (WVU) https://magnetus-2025.pa.ucla.edu
Joint Call for Runtime Proposals (2025 site) http://callforruntimeproposals.org
MagNetUS YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@MagNetUSplasma
UCLA Basic Plasma Science Facility https://plasma.physics.ucla.edu/
US Naval Reearch Lab Plasma Physics https://www.nrl.navy.mil/ppd/
OpenStar Technologies Ltd. https://www.openstar.tech/
APS DPP CPP https://sites.google.com/pppl.gov/dpp-cpp
FESAC Long-Range Plan (2021) https://science.osti.gov/-/media/fes/fesac/pdf/2020/202012/FESAC_Report_2020_Powering_the_Future.pdf
NASEM report https://www.nationalacademies.org/our-work/a-decadal-assessment-of-plasma-science

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