Title: The mathematics of optimized fusion reactors

Abstract: Stellarators are a promising type of magnetic confinement fusion devices for commercial power generation, because the dynamics of the hot fusion fuel - called a plasma - is largely determined by external control, as opposed to dynamical self-organization, as is the case for other fusion concepts. Computer design and simulations reliably predict experimental performance, which opens a lower risk and more cost efficient path to fusion power.
In this talk, I will present the mathematical challenges one faces when designing stellarators with optimized performance. I will show how recent progress in our mathematical understanding of stellarators and in numerical methods for reactor optimization have led to the discovery of reactor designs with outstanding physical properties. I will also highlight open problems in pure mathematics, scientific computing, numerical optimization, and reduced-order modeling, whose solutions could further improve reactor performance.

Brief bio: Antoine Cerfon obtained his PhD in Nuclear Science & Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2010, and stayed there for two more years as a post-doctoral associate. In 2012, he joined the Courant Institute at New York University as an assistant professor of mathematics, and he has been an associate professor of mathematics there since 2018. In 2023, he started to work for Type One Energy, a start-up company focusing on stellarator fusion power systems.