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Cornell University

Laboratory of Plasma Studies

Understanding characteristics of plasmas, from microscopic to macroscopic scales

Students & Alumni

Graduate Students

Jay Angel

Jay is currently working on using Zeeman Spectroscopy to determine the magnetic field in magnetized plasma expanding into vacuum.

Nate Chalmers

I am learning how to run experiments on our XP pulsed power system with the assistance of Senior Researchers. I am also utilizing my work on XP to confirm the path of my future study, which could be focused on radiative collapse, x-ray spectroscopy, inductive dips, or other related topics.

Chitai Chen

My current lab role is studying the feasibility of forming a magnetic mirror with an auto-magnetization liner on COBRA.

Jiyuan Chen

Jiyuan (Given) Chen earned his bachelor’s degree from Huazhong University of Science and Technology and is now a Ph.D. graduate student in the Applied and Engineering Physics Department at Cornell University. In his undergraduate study, he worked on betatron radiation generated in Laser Wakefield Acceleration. Using the same simulation tool, he now is investigating the ionization processes and other interesting plasma phenomena in laser and meta-surface interactions.

Euan Freeman


I am currently working on developing and using a Faraday Rotation diagnostic to study the magnetic field distribution in imploding gas-puff Z-pinches. These measurements will be used to confirm and compare with other magnetic field diagnostics such as Zeeman Spectroscopy and B-dot probes, and be used to develop a further understanding of the current distribution in these plasmas. In the future, I also plan to field this diagnostic on loads relevant to power-flow experiments.

Jihoon Kim

I work on ultra intense Laser-Plasma interaction using Particle-In-Cell codes and analytical modeling. My current projects include laser phase dependent phenomena in laser-wakefield accelerators and ion acceleration using structured targets and Petawatt-class lasers.

Joshua Luoma

I am interested in studying fundamental plasma physics and its application to engineering and industry. At Cornell, I am helping to design a two-color interferometry and shadowgraphy diagnostic for the COBRA pulsed power generator. This diagnostic will image plasma with both visible (532 nm) and ultraviolet (355 nm) laser light, capturing plasma dynamics and enabling the measurement of plasma density. The ultraviolet light is particularly useful, as it can probe deeper into the plasma than visible light.

Undergraduate Students

Paul Beck

Jake Lawson

Jeffrey Munsell