Education & Outreach
Forgoing beach, high school students spend summer studying physics
West Windsor student Sanjna Ravichandar, left, explains her research to PPPL Science Education Program Leader Shannon Greco, right
Wendy Yu, a student at High Technology High School in New Jersey’s Monmouth County, stands next to a poster detailing her efforts to create a new interactive online dashboard program
Steven Udotong, a student at Cinnaminson High School, stands by a poster explaining his summer research into superconducting magnetic coil systems
While many teenagers spend the hot summer months at the beach, a dedicated crew of high school students devoted last summer to conducting physics and engineering research at PPPL. Fifteen high school students from the New Jersey area and around the country presented their findings at the end of the program in a poster session at the Lab. Topics ranged from visualizing earthquakes to updating equations in computer code to model doughnut-shaped fusion machines known as tokamaks.
During the summer, the students were paired with PPPL scientists and engineers who acted as mentors and guided the students through their research projects. The internship program began decades ago at PPPL as a way to introduce students to plasma physics careers before they embarked on their college years. The goal was to inculcate a passion for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), and to introduce developing fusion energy as a possible career path.
“College freshmen often choose their major based on whether they did well in a particular subject in school, with little knowledge or experience of what it’s like to actually work in that field,” said Shannon Greco, an administrator of the program and PPPL Science Education Program Leader. “This internship gives these students a clear picture of what scientific research is like, exposure to the subfield of plasma physics, and confidence in their abilities as a researcher so they can get the most of their college experience.” ☀︎
PPPL From Portland to Princeton: Creative Lab staff teach the public about fusion energy
Jill Peery, of Willamette University, a former student in the Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) program at PPPL, shows off her poster on “Kinetic simulations of magnetic field generation via the Bierman Battery effect for laser-driven HED"
Samantha Perreira, of Cornell University, a former SULI student at PPPL, with her poster on “Development of a Telescope for a Pulse-Burst Laser System”
Andrew Zwicker, head of the Office of Communications and Public Outreach, talks to visitors
Tammy Ma, a scientist at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Arturo Dominguez, a senior program leader in Science Education, PPPL, in their talk on fusion
Members of the PPPL Science Education staff were busy educating students and the public about fusion energy during the American Physical Society (APS) Division of Plasma Physics Conference last November in the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon.
Physicist Arturo Dominguez, Science Education senior program leader at PPPL, joined Tammy Ma, a scientist at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, for a talk on “Fusion on Earth: Creating a Star with Magnets or Lasers,” at a Science on Tap program. The two spoke to about 200 adults about magnetic and inertial confinement fusion and making fusion the energy of the future. “Drs. Dominguez and Ma explained the science in a way that was understandable and engaging, to all and explained how both approaches are working toward fulfilling the potential of fusion energy for all,” said Andrew Zwicker, head of Communications and Public Outreach at PPPL.
PPPL also participated the following day in Science Teachers Day — a day of workshops about plasma, fusion and related sciences for middle school and high school teachers. The workshops aim to inform teachers about current plasma research and provide tools to help students understand plasma science.
The Science Education team next joined the Plasma Sciences Expo at the Convention Center. The team and two dozen volunteers taught middle school and high school students about plasma and fusion energy through plasma demonstrations at the PPPL table at the event.
“Every year we involve the general public and local students to learn about fusion energy science,” said Zwicker. “This year, dozens of volunteers shared our excitement about the beauty and complexity of plasmas with 1,300 students.” ☀︎
This year, dozens of volunteers shared our excitement about the beauty and complexity of plasmas
Shannon Greco, Science Education program leader, shows a student her poster on “Shifting Away from the PhD? Tracking interns at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory”
Volunteer graduate students Nelson, left, and Jacob Schwartz, right, with Oak Ridge postdoctoral fellow Drew Elliott, center, at PPPL’s booth
Undergraduate students extoll benefits of internships in fusion and plasma science
PPPL Director Steve Cowley talks with intern Catherine Felce, of Oxford University
SULI student Jalal Butt, of Central Connecticut State University, with PPPL scientists Egemen Kolemen, left, and Ahmed Diallo, right
SULI intern Samantha Pereira, of Cornell University, discusses her research with graduate student Brian Kraus
SULI student Stephen Majeski at the poster session
They gathered in the lobby of PPPL in dresses and suits, standing in front of posters showing computer-aided-design drawings, mathematical equations, and line graphs. The undergraduates, who had participated in the Summer Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) and Community College Internship (CCI) programs, presented the results they had completed in 10-week projects touching on computer science, mechanical engineering, and artificial intelligence.
For Jack Schroeder, a rising senior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the internship offered a view into a wider science world than what he was used to. “It was really cool just being at PPPL and seeing people do cutting-edge research in a wide variety of fields.” His project investigated the heating of plasmas, a topic relevant to this conundrum: why is the atmosphere of the sun, the corona, millions of degrees hotter than its surface? “I was fortunate because the project mixed together both physics and astronomy, two of my interests,” he said.
For Jalal Butt, a rising senior at Central Connecticut State University, “This was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had.” Butt collaborated with PPPL scientists Egemen Kolemen and Ahmed Diallo to study how deep-learning computer programs, a form of artificial intelligence, can predict the behavior of plasma within doughnut-shaped fusion facilities known as tokamaks. “Now I know I want to go into fusion research,” he said. “This is what I want to do with my life.”
And Alma Pineda, a rising junior at the University of California-Berkeley, completed research simulating tiny boron nitride nanotubes. “I loved working with this programming code, even though it was hard,” she said. “That’s what I came here for — to see if I like research and computational physics.”
DeeDee Ortiz, the science education program manager at PPPL and administrator of the two internships, observed that, “Every year, the students that we have are more dynamic then the previous year, and this year was no exception. These students are brilliant and funny and kind, and extremely hard working. The7are the scientists and engineers who will solve the issues we face with fusion today.” ☀︎
Communiversity
Emerson Gordon has fun with the Van de Graaff generator
Hadassah Broughton, 9, of East Windsor, holds up a shriveled Peep as sister Azara, 7, looks on
Brady, left, and Harper Chong, 5, check out a plasma ball
Hundreds of people visited the PPPL booth at the Communiversity ArtsFest, where visitors enjoyed the hair-raising Van de Graaff generator, children giggled over marshmallow Peeps bunnies expanding in the vacuum demonstration, and physicists chatted with the crowd about PPPL’s research.
The booth was one of dozens by University organizations, local non-profit and arts organizations and vendors at the annual event, sponsored by the Arts Council of Princeton with help from Princeton University students and support from the town of Princeton.
PPPL’s orange tent next to the black metal gates at the main entrance to the University was a popular stop by visitors attracted by the ITER model, the plasma demonstrations and giveaways of orange balls and backpacks. “It’s fascinating to know that this research is happening right next to where we live!” said Stewart Zhang, from Skillman, New Jersey, who visited the booth with his children. “Thank you so much! We learned a lot!”
Paige Togerson, of Belle Meade, New Jersey, said her daughter enjoyed the vacuum demonstration in which volunteers made marshmallow Peeps expand and contract. “She keeps telling everyone we meet about the exploding Peep!” Togerson said. “It’s so great!” ☀︎
New graduate student summer school launches at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
UCLA graduate student Gurleen Bai, left, discusses her research with Arturo Dominguez, PPPL science education senior program leader, right
Graduate student Ryan Gott, left, from the University of Alabama at Huntsville, presenting research in a poster session
PPPL graduate student Suying Jin, left, talking with UCLA graduate student Gurleen Bai, right
PPPL director Steven Cowley, standing at left, chats with summer school graduate students during breakfast
Graduate physics students from across the country descended on PPPL last summer for the first PPPL Graduate Summer School — a series of lectures on topics in plasma physics and the opportunity to meet other students with similar research interests. “The objective was to bring graduate students from all over the country to the Lab so we could share some of what goes on here with them,” said Arturo Dominguez, PPPL’s science education senior program leader who led the event. “It was also an opportunity for them to share their research with us.”
The 18 students were in their first or second year of doctoral physics and engineering programs at institutions including Seton Hall University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the University of Wisconsin, Bryn Mawr College, and West Virginia University. During the session, they participated in three mini-courses on turbulence, magnetic reconnection, and diagnostics that were also live-streamed on the internet. The students gave oral presentations on their research throughout the week and took part in a poster session showcasing their interests.
PPPL director Steven Cowley said it was “delightful to meet the students and to hear about their research. I learned a lot and I expect we will see much more of these talented young researchers. We must make this a regular program.”
Dominguez is working on that. “Though this was only the inaugural session, I think it was a success,” he said. “The students were generally very engaged with the topics, eager to present their work, and interested in meeting possible collaborators. We’re holding the program again this year.” ☀︎