01 Sep UW–Madison part of effort to advance fusion energy with machine learning
UW–Madison researchers are using the new Pegasus-III experiment to study innovative techniques for starting a plasma. Photo: Joel Hallberg
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison are taking part in a new collaboration built on open-science principles that will use machine learning to advance our knowledge of promising sources of magnetic fusion energy.
The U.S. Department of Energy has selected the collaboration, led by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to receive nearly $5 million over three years. The teams — including researchers at UW–Madison, William & Mary, Auburn University and the HDF group (a non-profit data management technology organization) — are tasked with creating a platform to publicly share data they glean from several unique fusion devices and optimize that data for analysis using artificial intelligence tools. Student researchers from each institution will also have an opportunity to participate in a subsidized summer program that will focus on applying data science and machine learning to fusion energy.
The data sources will include UW–Madison’s Pegasus-III experiment, which is centered around a fusion device known as a spherical tokamak. Pegasus-III is a new Department of Energy funded experiment that began operations in summer 2023 and represents the latest generation in a long-running set of tokamak experiments at UW–Madison. A primary goal of the experiment is to study innovative ways to start up future fusion power plants.
“I’m incredibly excited to be a part of projects like this one as we continue to push innovation both in the analysis and development of experimental devices and diverse workforce development initiatives,” says Steffi Diem, a professor of nuclear engineering and engineering physics, who leads the Pegasus-III experiment.
Diem is an emerging leader in the fusion research world. In 2022, she was invited to present at the White House’s Bold Decadal Vision for Commercial Fusion Energy that launched several efforts focused on commercializing fusion energy. In a field traditionally dominated by men, Diem is also one of four women leading the new collaboration.