Mertonian wins top physics thesis award

Dr Edmund Highcock, a former DPhil student at Merton, has been awarded this year's European Physical Society Plasma Physics Division's PhD award for his thesis 'The zero turbulence manifold in fusion plasmas'. The award jury said:

"His thesis work shows that he has a deep understanding of the underlying physics of the turbulence combined with an excellent knowledge and ability in mathematical thinking. His thesis has made an impact on the field of turbulence."

Dr Highcock described the problem his research addressed:

"Fusion is a way of generating safe, clean and unlimited energy by heating hydrogen plasma until it is so hot that it fuses into helium. Unfortunately turbulence, a boiling mess of whirlpools and eddies, causes the heat to escape from the plasma, meaning that we cannot get it quite hot enough. My PhD focused on ways of getting rid of the turbulence by spinning the plasma at nearly sonic velocities."

He added:

"I really enjoyed my time at Merton, which has an active and supportive graduate community."

Dr Highcock began his PhD at Imperial College London, transferring midway through to Merton, where his PhD advisor was Alex Schekochihin. He is now a Junior Research Fellow at Magdalen College and has also just won the EUROfusion Research Fellowship.