The promise of fusion energy has grown substantially in recent years, in large part because of novel high-temperature superconducting (HTS) materials that can shrink the size and boost the performance of the extremely powerful magnets needed in fusion reactors. Realizing that potential is a complex engineering challenge, which nuclear science and engineering student Erica Salazar is taking up in her doctoral studies. Salazar works at MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC) on the SPARC project, an ambitious fast-track program being conducted in collaboration with MIT spinout Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS). The goal is…
