Odd Erik Garcia  –  Professor

Audun Theodorsen  –  Associate Professor

Jan Petter Hansen  –  Professor

Laszlo Pal Csernai  –  Professor Emeritus

Martin Møller Greve  –  Associate Professor

Anders Henry Nielsen  –  Adjunct Professor

Juan Manuel Losada  –  Postdoctoral Fellow

Gregor Decristoforo  –  Senior Engineer

Olga Paikina  –  Doctoral Research Fellow

Synne Brynjulfsen  –  Doctoral Research Fellow

Rolf Annar Berg Nilsen  –  Doctoral Research Fellow

Johannes Mørkrid  –  Doctoral Research Fellow

Two PhD positions announced by the FUSENOW center

Fusion Research Center Norway (FUSENOW) has announced two PhD fellowship positions

Controlled thermonuclear fusion based on magnetic confinement holds the potential as an unlimited source of clean electrical energy for humanity. A major obstacle towards this goal is the interaction of the magnetically confined, hot plasma with material surfaces in reactors. Turbulent motions and transient transport events impose numerous challenges for future power fusion reactors. The fluctuation-induced radial transport results in high particle densities and temperatures in the boundary region and enhanced interactions between the plasma and material surfaces. This leads to erosion of wall material and release of impurities into the confined plasma. The former will ultimately define the plasma facing components lifetime, while the latter may cause significant radiation in the core plasma and limit the power performance of fusion reactors.

Because of these challenges, turbulence and cross-field transport of particles and heat in the boundary region of magnetically confined plasmas is a field of intense research. The boundary region of magnetically confined plasmas is commonly in an inherently fluctuating state with an order unity relative fluctuation level of the plasma parameters. These fluctuations are generally attributed to magnetic field-aligned plasma filaments that move radially outwards to limiter structures and the main chamber walls. These filaments, commonly referred to as blobs, are localized in the drift plane perpendicular to the magnetic field. Moreover, they have excess pressure compared to the time-average plasma.

This project attempts to elucidate the statistical properties of the fluctuations by first-principles mathematical modelling of the turbulence, numerical simulations of these models, stochastic modelling and advanced data analysis to identify and quantify the role of the filament structures for plasma-wall interactions.

UiT has recently established the Fusion Research Center Norway (FUSENOW) – the first research center on fusion plasma physics in Norway, supported by funding from the Trond Mohn Research Foundation/Tromsø Science Foundation. The research activity comprises stochastic modelling (describing the fluctuation as a super-position of uncorrelated pulses), numerical simulations of turbulent fluctuations and analysis of experimental measurement data from international collaboration partners. More information can be found on the FUSENOW web pages.

The applicant must present a description outlining the academic basis of the PhD project in relation to the research themes of FUSENOW. The project description shall not exceed three pages, literature references included. It must include a description of the topic, research question(s) and a reasoning of the choices. It should also indicate the methodologies to be used. The final project description will be developed in cooperation with the supervisors.

The announcement can be found at Jobbnorge.

Op-ed on fusion in Norwegian assessment on nuclear power

Center leader Odd Erik Garcia publishes chronicle on the neglect of fusion energy in Norwegian assessment of nuclear power

The op-ed argues that fusion energy is an overlooked opportunity in Norway’s energy debate. While recent discussions have focused mainly on traditional nuclear fission and small modular reactors, fusion—despite being potentially more forward-looking—has received little attention.

Fusion energy, the process that powers the sun, could provide vast amounts of clean, safe, and virtually limitless energy, without long-lived radioactive waste or major accident risks.

Internationally, development is accelerating: the EU is working toward a demonstration reactor by mid-century, and several private companies aim for commercial fusion in the 2030s. These timelines may even rival or beat the expected rollout of nuclear power in Norway.

The author criticizes the Norwegian nuclear energy report for barely addressing fusion and offering no concrete recommendations, despite its mandate to do so. This is seen as a missed opportunity—especially since Norwegian actors like Equinor are already investing in fusion abroad.

He argues that Norway has the resources, expertise, and industrial base to become a leading player, but lacks political follow-up and strategic commitment. To fix this, he proposes stronger research efforts, dedicated funding programs, expanded international collaboration, and education initiatives in both fission and fusion.

The main conclusion is that fusion energy should be an integral part of Norway’s long-term energy strategy, and that failing to act now risks missing a major technological and industrial opportunity.

The chronicle was published in the newpaper Dagsavisen on April 14th.

New publication from the FUSENOW center

"Fluctuation-driven cross-field plasma transport in FELTOR turbulence simulations of the TCV-X23 scenario" by S. Brynjulfsen  and O. E. Garcia

Understanding how plasma behaves in the boundary region of fusion devices is crucial for advancing nuclear fusion as a sustainable energy source. In this region, plasma turbulence drives the transport of particles and heat, which can affect the performance and longevity of fusion reactors. This study investigates these turbulent processes using advanced computer simulations of experiments conducted on the TCV tokamak, a fusion research device located in Switzerland.

The research focuses on "blobs"—localized structures of high plasma density that move radially outward in the boundary region of the plasma, known as the scrape-off layer (SOL). These blobs are key players in cross-field transport, carrying particles and energy from the core plasma to the reactor walls. The study uses a sophisticated simulation tool called FELTOR, which models the plasma behavior in three dimensions, capturing the complex dynamics of turbulence.

The simulations reveal that plasma transport is not uniform but "ballooned," meaning it is concentrated in specific regions around the tokamak's mid-plane. The direction of the magnetic field plays a significant role in shaping this transport. When the magnetic field is oriented in a "favorable" direction, blobs are larger, more frequent, and transport more particles compared to the "unfavorable" direction. This difference arises from how the magnetic field interacts with the plasma's natural drifts and turbulence.

The study also provides new insights into the three-dimensional structure of blobs. These structures are elongated along magnetic field lines, but their shape and dynamics change as they move outward. The simulations show that blobs are not perfectly aligned with the magnetic field and exhibit time delays and amplitude changes along their length. These findings help refine our understanding of blob dynamics and their role in plasma transport.

Importantly, the simulations reproduce universal statistical properties of plasma turbulence observed in experiments, such as the characteristic shapes of fluctuations and their probability distributions. This agreement validates the simulation model and strengthens its utility for studying plasma behavior in fusion devices.

By improving our understanding of turbulence and transport in the plasma boundary, this research contributes to the development of more efficient and robust fusion reactors. Future work will extend these models to include temperature dynamics and interactions with neutral particles, further enhancing our ability to predict and control plasma behavior in fusion experiments.

This article is published in the journal Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion.