Speaker: Prof. Mark Koepke, West Virgina University
Program Description
Mark Koepke, a professor in the physics and astronomy departments at West Virginia University and chair of the DOE Office of Science’s Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee (FESAC), will deliver a special Photon Science Seminar, “Partnering on Grand-challenge Opportunities at the Fusion Energy Sciences Frontiers,” at 3 p.m. Wednesday, March 18, in Building 901's Redtail Hawk Room. This talk is open to all SLAC employees, though seating is limited.
Koepke will discuss how fusion energy sciences research aims to expand the fundamental understanding of matter across wide ranges of temperature, density and energy-density and to build the scientific foundation needed to develop a fusion energy source by studying plasma parameters, dynamics, and interactions with its surroundings, by resolving the essential physics principles, and by creating predictive theoretical and computational models.
He will describe how institutional and agency partnerships in select physics-discovery frontiers can aid in achieving a broad range of plasma science discoveries and resolving grand scientific challenges across all subprograms of DOE Fusion Energy Sciences.
His talk will provide a perspective on critically important questions in these areas and on scientific gaps where there are opportunities to make important contributions. He will briefly describe the Z Astrophysical Plasma Properties collaboration at Sandia National Laboratories as an example of game-changing scientific research and capabilities at the interface of astronomical observations and laboratory-based plasma research.
Koepke has served as chair of the American Physical Society (APS) Division of Plasma Physics, chair of the FESAC Strategic Planning Panel, advisory chair of the DIII-D magnetic fusion project’s research program, executive board member of the Omega Laser User Group, council chair of the U.S. Burning Plasma Organization and deputy editor of the journal Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. He has held several positions in the DOE Office of Fusion Energy Sciences, including acting director of the Research Division, team lead for Discovery Science and Joint Programs, and senior scientific coordinator.
He received his PhD in plasma physics in 1984 from the University of Maryland and spent time at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the University of Washington before launching the plasma physics program at West Virginia University in 1987. He is a Fellow of the APS and the Institute of Physics.
