Bringing the Power of the Sun to Earth
In 1920, scientists found the mechanism that supplies the energy for the Sun to burn: nuclear fusion. Soon, they realized that controlling this process could lead to an immense energy production on Earth. Today, the most complex machine ever conceived is under construction in the South of France aiming to demonstrate the feasibility of nuclear fusion as a new energy source for mankind. The core of the machine will reach temperatures exceeding two hundred million degrees Celsius in order to bring the particles close enough to fuse together. This will be the hottest natural phenomenon on Earth and even 10 times hotter than the sun itself. Nuclear fusion achieved with the lithium of the battery of one single laptop and half a bathtub of water could provide energy for one person for 30 years. This, together with the fact that the fuel is essentially limitless, the reaction intrinsically safe and without CO2 production makes nuclear fusion extremely promising. Scientists all over the world are working together towards this dream of energy independence.
The realization of controlled thermonuclear fusion as an energy source would transform society, providing a nearly limitless energy source with renewable fuel. Achieving controlled thermonuclear fusion has been recognized by the National Academy of Engineering as one of the 14 Grand Challenges for the 21st Century, on a par with global access to clean water.
Nuclear and Plasma Physicist
Dr. Livia Casali
Dr. Livia Casali is a nuclear and plasma physicist with experience in nuclear fusion research on the DIII-D tokamak in the USA and the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak in Germany. She joined the University of Tennessee Knoxville in 2021 as a Zinkle Fellow and Assistant Professor. She works both on experiments and computational modeling: she designs, executes, analyzes experiments as well as performing modeling using state of the art simulation tools such as SOLPS-ITER.
She is currently co-leading the Core-Edge Integration Area for the DIII-D tokamak. The breadth of her research includes radiative and detached divertors, divertor optimization, impurity transport and core-edge integration solution to achieve high core performance scenarios with mitigated heat loads which are essential for future reactor operations. Dr. Casali is very passionate about sharing her interest for nuclear fusion and physics with the general public. She is committed to engage people in the wonders of physics, in particular to stimulate young women in STEM. She is especially enthusiastic to contribute to one of the century’s biggest scientific and technological challenges which aims to reproduce on earth what that of which keeps the stars burning and therefore gives us life: NUCLEAR FUSION!
2022 Department of Energy Early Career Award
“Years ago, I decided I wanted to dedicate my work on fighting climate change and make fusion energy a reality. Today my work is particularly dedicated to unravel the most important and difficult challenge in fusion energy research: integrating the hot core with the cold plasma edge.”
That particular issue, known as core-edge integration, deals with the need to get temperatures in the core hot enough so that plasma is produced, but doing so in a way that the edges of the vessel containing the plasma don’t degrade and impair the fusion reaction. Because the core and the edge of the plasma are governed by different physics, understanding how these regions interact and can be integrated together represents an extraordinary challenge encompassing a wide range of spatial scales and a broad energy and temperature range. As such, this represents a critical step toward fusion and the clean and limitless source of energy that it provides. Read More from the UTK Department of Nuclear Engineering.
ITER Scientist Fellow
Dr. Casali is being closely aligned with the largest tokamak in the world, the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, more commonly known as ITER, as the ITER Organization recently named her an ITER Scientist Fellow.
The ITER Scientist Fellows program began in 2016. The ITER Scientist Fellow Program brings together world-renowned experts from different laboratories around areas of specific development for ITER. Fellows play an important role in creating bridges with the fusion research with the united goal of making fusion power not only feasible from a scientific standpoint, but economically, as well. Read More from UTK Department of Nuclear Engineering.
