Culham Thesis Prize: Plasma Physics Group
This annual prize is for excellence in the scientific method recognised by the award of a Doctor of Philosophy degree in plasma science from a UK or Irish university in the last two years.
The prize is £500 plus the costs of participating in the annual IOP Plasma Physics Conference, where the winner is asked to give a talk.
The thesis should:
- be well explained
- demonstrate a good understanding of the subject
- show significant new work and originality, clearly driven by the nominee
- have been submitted two years before the nomination deadline
- be authored by a member of the IOP
Previously unsuccessful theses can be resubmitted. Please make this clear in the nomination.
Proposers are encouraged to nominate the highest quality work. There is one nomination per proposer. There are no runner-up places for this prize.
Nominations are open until 23.59 on Monday 16 December 2024.
Nominations for the prize, together with theses if possible, should be sent by email to Dr Benjamin Chapman-Oplopoiou ([email protected]) no later than 23.59 on Monday 16 December 2024. These will be forwarded to three judges for evaluation. If a thesis is too large to send as an email attachment, a hyperlink should be provided with the nomination.
Further information about the prize, can also be obtained from [email protected].
The prize is sponsored by Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (CCFE) and jointly coordinated by CCFE and our group.
Winners
2024
Dr Thomas Gawne
University of Oxford. For his thesis on the Localisation of States in Dense Plasmas.
2023
Dr Alex Picksley
University of Oxford. For the thesis, Low Density Plasma Waveguides for Low Density Laser Wakefield Accelerators.
2022
Dr James Chappell
University of Oxford. For the thesis on experimental study of long timescale plasma wakefield evolution: investigations toward high-repetition-rate operation of plasma-based accelerators.
2021
Dr Stefan Mijin
Imperial College London. For his thesis, Modelling of Kinetic Effects in Parallel Transport in the Tokamak Scrape-off Layer.
2020
Dr Ben Chapman
University of Warwick. For his thesis, Ion Cyclotron Emission from Energetic Ion Populations in Fusion Plasmas.
2019
Kevin Verhaegh
University of York. For his thesis, Spectroscopic Investigations of Detachment on the TCV Tokamak.
2018
Clare Scullion
Queen's University Belfast. For her thesis, Investigations of Ion Acceleration from Solid Targets Driven by Ultrashort Laser Pulses.
2017
Dr Jason Cole
Imperial College London. For his thesis, Diagnosis and Applications of Laser-Wakefield Accelerators.
2016
Thomas White
University of Oxford. For his thesis, Resolving Ion Acoustic Waves in Warm Dense Matter.
2015
Dr David A MacLellan
University of Strathclyde. For his thesis, Effects of Electrical Resistivity on Fast Electron Transport in Relativistic Laser-solid Interactions.
2014
Dr Guy Burdiak
Imperial College London. For his thesis, An investigation of Cylindrical Liner Z-pinches as Drivers for Converging Strong Shock Experiments.
2013
Dr Charlotte Palmer
Imperial College, London, For her thesis, Approaching the Radiation Pressure Regime of Proton Acceleration with High Intensity Lasers.
2012
Dr S M Vinko
University of Oxford. For his thesis, Studying Dense Plasmas Using Intense UV and X-ray Free-Electron Laser Radiation.
2011
Stefan Kneip
Imperial College, London. For his thesis, Laser Plasma Accelerator and Wiggler.
2010
Ian Chapman
Imperial College London. For his thesis, Modelling the Stability of the n=1 Internal Kink Mode in Tokamak Plasmas.
2009
Dr Ben Dudson
University of Oxford. For his thesis, Edge Turbulence in the Mega-Amp Spherical Tokamak.
2008
Dr Louise Willingale
Imperial College London. For significant experimental and numerical work on the acceleration of ions to high energies by laser-plasma interaction.
2007
Dr Phil Nilson
Imperial College London. For Measurements of the Dynamics of Laser and Soft X-Ray Heated Targets by XUV and Optical Probing.
2006
Dr Stuart P D Mangles
Imperial College London. For measurements of relativistic electrons from intense laser plasma interactions.
2005
Dr Barney Walton
Imperial College London. For novel experimental investigations of beat-wave acceleration as intense electromagnetic fields interact with material in a plasma state.
2004
Dr Andrea Ciardi
Imperial College London. For laboratory investigation and modelling of hypersonic jets in wire array Z-pinch experiments.
2003
Dr Roderick Kennedy
University of Oxford. For innovative research on the application of probe theory to dust particles immersed in plasma.
2002
Dr Eugene Clark
Imperial College London. For ground-breaking research on proton and ion acceleration in ultra-intense laser plasma interactions.