image: Jessica Eskew stands in front of a full-scale (1:1) cross-section model of the DIII-D National Fusion Facility tokamak, where she will conduct DOE-funded research on controlling runaway electrons to improve the safety and performance of future fusion energy devices. (credit: Jessica Eskew)
Credit: Jessica Eskew
Auburn, AL — Jessica Eskew, a PhD student in the Department of Physics at Auburn University, has been awarded a highly competitive Department of Energy Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) Fellowship to conduct fusion energy research at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility in San Diego.
Eskew is advised at Auburn by Dr. Evdokiya Kostadinova, an assistant professor in the Department of Physics whose research focuses on plasma physics, magnetic confinement, and energetic particle transport. Her mentorship reflects Auburn Physics’ growing strength in plasma and fusion research, where the department maintains a strong national presence through theory, modeling, and experiments, as well as close collaboration with major U.S. fusion facilities.
The SCGSR Fellowship, administered by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, supports outstanding doctoral researchers with strong potential to advance U.S. scientific leadership. During her fellowship appointment, Eskew will spend a minimum of six months on site at DIII-D, one of the world’s leading magnetic confinement fusion research facilities.
Eskew’s research addresses one of the most serious challenges facing future fusion power plants: runaway electrons. These extremely high-energy electrons can form during plasma disruptions and, if uncontrolled, may escape the plasma and damage the inner walls of fusion devices.
“Runaway electrons are one of the most serious challenges facing future fusion power plants,” Eskew said. “By controlling the plasma’s magnetic structure, especially how magnetic islands split and reorganize, it may be possible to intentionally release these electrons in a controlled way, rather than allowing them to strike plasma-facing components all at once within the fusion device”
Her work builds on recent DIII-D experiments demonstrating that magnetic island dynamics strongly impact energetic electron behavior, pointing toward a new approach for runaway electron mitigation through controlled manipulation of magnetic field topology.
“This fellowship allows me to work on site at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility and collaborate closely with experts in energetic particles and plasma control,” Eskew said. “Being embedded in this research environment is essential for advancing this work and for my development as a fusion scientist.”
At DIII-D, Eskew will collaborate with Dr. Dmitri Orlov of University of California San Diego, whose group specializes in energetic particle physics and plasma control.
Eskew is a Graduate Research Assistant in the Department of Physics at Auburn University, and her award highlights Auburn Physics’ expanding impact in plasma and fusion research, supported by strong faculty leadership, graduate training, and national laboratory partnerships.