About Me

Hello! My name is Julian Picard, and I'm currently a graduate student at the Plasma Science and Fusion Center at MIT.

I graduated from the University of Washington in 2014 with a B.S. in Physics and a B.A. in Art History in the Fall of 2013. After working as a student intern, I took a full time position at Eagle Harbor Technologies (EHT). EHT is a small physics research & development company specializing in pulsed power and high voltage nanosecond pulse generators, along with basic plasma physics research. My time at EHT was invaluable in developing my skills an experimental physicist.

After several years at EHT, I moved to Boston in 2016 with my partner, Allison, to start my PhD in Physics at MIT. Here, I work with Dr. Richard Temkin developing new microwave sources for the particle accelerators of the future.

I'm driven to develop a strong intuition in work through the interplay of theory, modeling, and experiment. That intuition, derived from curiosity and experience, is what drives my reserach forward. It takes time to develop — which explains why I felt so useless my first few years! My favorite part about my research is that, at the end of the day, I have to build something that works in real life. I find that extremely motivating!

In my off-time, I love to cook, tinker, and play guitar and banjo — and just talk with people!