¹û¶³´«Ã½

Summarize the most relevant outcome from your research and how this could impact society.

We have developed the worldwide unique capability to self-consistently model the production and transport of contaminants in plasmas in nuclear fusion reactors called ‘tokamaks.

When a tokamak runs in a high-performant scenario it typically undergoes repetitive instabilities. It is possible to lessen these instabilities with magnetic field perturbations, however, it is not understood how this affects contamination of the fuel. 

With the results of this work, I – along with my collaborators – can now understand and predict at the same time the transport of contaminants and how the plasma (the fuel) responds to the perturbations. The newly developed simulations capabilities allow the optimization of the performance of the tokamak will minimizing contamination of the fuel.

What was the most significant finding from your research, and what aspects turned out to be most important to you?

The formation of so-called ExB vortices in response to magnetic perturbations. These are flows driven by the electric field in magnetized plasmas.

I found that these vortices form in the edge of the plasma, and they can efficiently transport impurities to the confined plasma region, contaminating the fuel.

The most important aspect to me was discovery by visualization. With abstract and non-linear physics, it is often difficult to find the right patterns through visualization and 'playing' with the data in a various ways allowed me to find and understand several important mechanisms.

What was your motivation to work on this research project?

It is mostly intrinsic motivation. I find it an interesting subject where lots of things are still to be developed.

This project further allowed me to do half of my research at the (ITER), in the south of France, and half in Eindhoven.

Research abroad is valuable, and it was a fun experience. Working towards a new primary form of sustainable energy is of course a huge plus, but it is my intrinsic interest and hunger for knowledge that drives me.

What was the greatest obstacle that you met on the PhD journey?

I would split the greatest obstacle into two categories. Force majeure and the nature of the work itself.

The long illness and eventual death due to Covid of my father has been difficult and took a lot of time and energy out of my life. Not long after, I got ill due to Covid and was not able to properly do research for the best of 6 months.

Although not directly related to the PhD itself, the PhD journey is of course more than only work. It feels like a big hit when a significant portion of the PhD time vanishes, even if it's due to force majeure.

On the second category, may be a more positive note: although 4 years is a long time, you have many objectives to complete. There was no time for each step in the research to be perfect. Making choices on how much time you can spend on perfecting results and when to continue is a difficult choice. Of course, it is no surprise that the limitation of time is often a great obstacle.

What did you learn about yourself during your PhD research journey? Did you develop additional new skills over the course of the PhD research?

A PhD is a fascinating time. During your Bachelor and Master your only responsibility is learning, but mostly what is handed to you.

During the PhD, most of the responsibility is still learning, but you decide what skills to develop during the process. 

I took this opportunity, to besides working on my direct subject, develop supervising skills, communication skills, and learned how to better visualize my research. 

What are your plans for after your PhD research?

Next up I’ll be taking up a Postdoc position at ITER. So, I’m continuing on a path in the world of fusion, and very much looking forward to it.

Title of PhD thesis: . Supervisors: Guido Huijsmans, Niek Lopes Cardozo, and Alberto Loarte.