| Meet the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Cary Forest Professor of Physics and Director of the Plasma Physics Laboratory |
 |
Research area The Wisconsin Plasma Physics Laboratory (WiPPL) operates several multi-investigator, intermediate-scale plasma physics devices, and represents the plasma physics efforts within the physics department. WiPPL serves both UW and external users and supports the core of a broad research program to understand the flow of energy between fields and particles in plasmas.
What excites you about your work?
“I work at the boundary between plasma physics and nuclear fusion. As the director of the Plasma Physics Lab, I study astrophysical questions in lab and am involved in the WHAM experiment, which is a prototype for next-generation fusion power plants. I’m proud of being an experimental plasma physics researcher, and I can go in many directions in the field. The science is what drives me—I’m very loyal to my field.”
What do you hope to achieve?
“I of course would love to provide mankind with a limitless clean source of energy that movies humans forward, and I started working in the field because fusion was an interesting, challenging problem, and I hoped to have an impact. One way to have an impact is to train really good students, and I’m very proud of my students’ achievements.”
Professor Cary Forest is exploring some of the most exciting frontiers in physics—where the science of stars meets the future of energy. His work connects two powerful ideas: how the sun creates energy (fusion) and how magnetic fields shape the universe (plasma astrophysics). By building and testing new kinds of fusion systems, he’s helping pave the way toward energy sources that could one day power our world.
– Jeanine Burmania, WARF, Senior Director, IP and Licensing
Want to learn more?
Jeanine Burmania, [email protected], 608.960.9846