Environmental Internship Program - 2023 Booklet

Mason Bates ’25
ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING
PROJECT TITLE
Small Clean Fusion
Reactor Shields
ORGANIZATION(S)
Princeton Plasma Physics
Laboratory
LOCATION(S)
Princeton, New Jersey
MENTOR(S)
Samuel Cohen,
Director, Program in
Plasma Science and
Technology, Princeton
Plasma Physics
Laboratory
I worked with the Princeton Plasma Physics
Laboratory to investigate a more energy efficient
neutron shield design for the Princeton Field
Reversed Configuration (PFRC) fusion reactor. To
keep operators safe and equipment functional,
such a shield must be able to block high energy
neutrons, a byproduct of the PFRC’s fusion
reaction, but it must not block the magnetic
fields required for radio frequency heating to
avoid siphoning off wasted energy. I designed
and conducted experiments to investigate
the electrical properties and radio frequency
penetration through shields of packed stainlesssteel
spheres, a proxy for electrically conductive
high temperature shielding materials. I also
performed calculations to model the Hertzian
contact mechanics of conductive spheres. I
mapped the magnetic fields produced by our
antennas through various shield models to
evaluate their energy efficiency. The experience
taught me hands-on skills in radio frequency
design, electrical engineering experimentation
and plasma physics. I’ve learned a lot about
nuclear fusion and the avenues it may open for
clean energy in the future.
INNOVATION AND A
NEW ENERGY FUTURE
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