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Preparing community college and high school students for inertial confinement fusion jobs in engineering and technology

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Conference

2024 Fall ASEE Mid-Atlantic Section Conference

Location

Farmingdale State College, NY, New York

Publication Date

October 25, 2024

Start Date

October 25, 2024

End Date

November 5, 2024

Conference Session

Technical Sessions 5

Tagged Topic

Professional Papers

Page Count

8

DOI

10.18260/1-2--49454

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/49454

Download Count

46

Paper Authors

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Arkadiy Portnoy City University of New York, Queensborough Community College

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Sunil Dehipawala City University of New York, Queensborough Community College

biography

Tak Cheung

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Tak Cheung, Ph.D., professor of physics, teaches in CUNY Queensborough Community College. He also conducts research and mentors student research projects.

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Abstract

The University of Rochester Laser Energetic Lab demonstrated the control of plasma instability in the condition of inertial confinement fusion in April 2023 and secured a 500 million dollars cooperative agreement with the US Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration by December 2023, with new emphasis training for technicians, engineers, operators, etc. As an open-admission community college with DEI focus in an urban setting in New York State, a fusion-learning pedagogy was initiated to recruit and prepare students interested in fusion energy jobs, including those STEM students enrolled in the NYS CSTEP program. The pedagogy consists of experimental experience in laser alignment and Michelson interferometer techniques at Physics II E&M level. Subsequently DOE awarded 100 million dollars to Rochester in the 2024 budget, for the implementation of broadband laser driven fusion with workforce development. The updated pedagogy consists of project experience in target alignment precision and AI driven simulation, consistent with the products of the partner companies in the Rochester Fusion Consortium. The AI driven plasma simulation component was found to be better received by the students, in comparison to the target alignment component using the standard Kalman filter algorithm in Control Theory. The modification of the implementation to the high school students in Outreach program is presented, together with suggestions for improving the first assessment. Recruitment for out-of-state high school students via the NYS Excelsior scholarship pathway and the articulation agreement strategies to facilitate community college students interested in laser driven fusion jobs are discussed.

Portnoy, A., & Dehipawala, S., & Cheung, T. (2024, October), Preparing community college and high school students for inertial confinement fusion jobs in engineering and technology Paper presented at 2024 Fall ASEE Mid-Atlantic Section Conference, Farmingdale State College, NY, New York. 10.18260/1-2--49454

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