Physicist Egemen Kolemen, who has dual appointments at PPPL and Princeton University, has been awarded funding from the DOE's Early Career Research Program. The grant, covering five years and totaling almost $850,000, will support research on how to monitor and control instabilities in tokamaks.

"It's great to see that the work I'm doing is appreciated by the community and the DOE," said Kolemen. "I'm also thankful that the award will allow me to formulate long-term plans and think deeply, without having to worry about grant deadlines." He aims to create a real-time feedback system that will automatically prevent the ultra-hot plasma from bursting its magnetic confines and damaging the tokamak's interior.

The award marks the fourth Early Career Research Program grant for PPPL physicists in as many years. Previous winners include Luis Delgado-Aparicio, Brian Grierson, and Ahmed Diallo.