Uri Shumlak

University of Washington, Zap Energy

Monday, June 22
8:15 AM – 9:15 AM

The sheared-flow-stabilized Z pinch enables unity-beta plasma confinement without external magnetic field coils. Experiments at the University of Washington and Zap Energy demonstrate stable, high-performance plasmas and thermonuclear fusion consistent with adiabatic compression. Simulations and integrated technology demonstrator support scaling toward a compact fusion reactor.

Uri Shumlak is Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the University of Washington and Chief Scientist and co-founder of Zap Energy. He earned his B.S. from Texas A&M University and Ph.D. from UC Berkeley, and was a National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow at the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory. He has held appointments at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the Weizmann Institute of Science. He is an APS Fellow, IEEE Fellow, and AIAA Associate Fellow. His research focuses on plasma physics, innovative magnetic confinement for fusion energy, space propulsion, and theoretical and computational multi-species plasma modeling.

Dr. Steven J. Gitomer

(1942–2025)

Tuesday, June 23
8:15 AM – 9:15 AM

This memorial session will cover the lifelong outstanding technical and personal contributions of Steve Gitomer, long-time Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science, to the IEEE Plasma Science and Applications (PSAC) and Pulsed Power Committees, to the broader plasma science community, and to advocating for science in the post-cold war former Soviet Union.

Read the Full Bio of Steve Gitomer

Chunqi Jiang, Old Dominion University, Chair of NPSS PSAC

Edl Schamiloglu, University of New Mexico
Rickey Faehl, Los Alamos National Laboratory (Retired)
Jacob Kiviat, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory

Sedina Tsikata

Georgia Tech

Wednesday, June 24
8:15 AM – 9:15 AM

Fluctuations in electric and magnetic fields play a central role in the behavior of magnetized low-temperature plasmas, influencing phenomena such as anomalous transport, ion heating, and wall erosion. Their multiscale nature in both space and time makes them extremely challenging to measure and model, leaving current understanding incomplete. This talk addresses insights gained through a combination of approaches, and ongoing efforts focusing on advancing diagnostics, combining measurement approaches, and using theory to predict fluctuation behavior in emerging plasma devices.

Sedina Tsikata’s research concerns the fundamental nature and applications of magnetized plasmas, with a focus on the development of advanced diagnostics, analysis methods, control, and new plasma devices. Her research has been applied to the study of instabilities and electron features in Hall plasma thrusters for space propulsion and in other magnetized plasma environments relevant to materials processing and accelerator physics. Before joining Georgia Tech in 2023 and starting the Plasma Instrumentation and Engineering Research (PIER) Lab, Dr. Tsikata was a researcher with the CNRS (National Center for Scientific Research) in France. Dr. Tsikata received graduate degrees from the Ecole Polytechnique in France, and a bachelor’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Tsikata’s work has been recognized with awards from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, CNRS, the French Physics Society, and Electric Rocket Propulsion Society.

Thursday, June 25
8:15 AM – 9:30 AM

An accounting of how we got to fusion ignition from both the technical challenges perspective and the strategic perspective.

Dr. Hurricane completed his Ph.D. in physics at UCLA in 1994. Omar has been Chief Scientist for the inertial confinement fusion (ICF) program since 2014, formulating the strategy and many tactics that led to fusion ignition. Omar was awarded the U.S. DOE Lawrence Award in 2009. He received the ANS Edward Teller Award in 2021 for “Visionary scientific insights and leadership of National Ignition Facility experiments resulting in the achievement of a burning plasma” as well as APS fellowship in 2016 and the 2022 Dawson Award for Excellence in Plasma Physics Research, with his team, for a burning plasma.