May 19, 2025 -- Marlene Patino, an assistant project scientist in the Center for Energy Research at UC San Diego, conducts research to advance magnetic confinement fusion. In this Q&A, she shares her academic journey, the role engineers and computer scientists can play in the fusion energy field, and advice for students hoping to build a career in fusion.

 

What are your degrees in?

B.S., M.S., and PhD are in Aerospace Engineering

 

What type of fusion do you work on: magnetic or inertial?

Magnetic confinement fusion

 

What lab are you in? 

PISCES Lab within the Center for Energy Research

 

In non-technical terms, what is the big challenge you are working on? 

One of the biggest challenges in magnetic confinement fusion, and one in which we are working towards, is creating a device to contain a virtual star here on Earth. To achieve this we need to determine a material to make up the walls of such a device that can withstand the harsh environmental conditions  of high heat and particle loads for long durations. We expose conventional and novel materials to fusion-relevant plasmas and test their performance and durability (i.e., test thermal conductivity, erosion, elemental composition, surface morphology, and fuel retention).

 

What are the engineering / computer science / technical skills that you use in your work activities? 

Engineering skills - characterize materials (i.e., electron microscopy and spectroscopy, gas spectrometry)

Computer science - develop computational models to simulate the physics that occurs within materials, and write code to take and analyze experimental data

Technical skills - vacuum systems, plumbing for cooling components, basic electrical for making cable connections and troubleshooting equipment, machining parts

 

What other skills do you use in your day to day work activities? 

Clear communication skills are also required when writing articles for publication in scientific journals or reports for funding sources, and when presenting results to collaborators in meetings and to audiences at conferences. 

 

Knowing what you know now, if you were going to start college or graduate school next fall –  and if your goal was to build a career focused on helping to make fusion a practical reality – what degree or degrees would you pursue?

Most of my colleagues in the area of plasma-material interactions for fusion applications have degrees in Physics. However, nuclear fusion is a wide field which requires folks from many diverse backgrounds. For example, Plasma Physics for improving the confinement of hot plasma in the core to maintain conditions for fusion reactions to take place, Material Science for developing and characterizing materials that line the walls of fusion devices, Chemistry for breeding and extracting tritium fuel, Computer Science for developing code for data collection/analysis and physical models for predictive capabilities, Electrical Engineering for providing power to heating systems and magnets, and Mechanical Engineering for designing and constructing the vacuum vessel. Yet, the disciplines are interrelated, and so having a degree in a different discipline of engineering or science is often not limiting. For instance, I have a degree in Aerospace Engineering, but had experience in research on plasma-material interactions for in-space propulsion that I now apply to research on plasma-material interactions for fusion applications.

 

Beyond coursework, what else would you do as part of this academic journey? 

Research experience is critical in the journey in any academic field. There are many opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to take part in research at UC San Dego, other universities, national labs, and private fusion companies. For example, UC offers the 99/199 courses for undergraduates to do research over a single or multiple quarters with professors on campus. Summer research opportunities at the Princeton Plasma Physics Lab and General Atomics’ DIII-D facility are possible through the DOE's Summer Undergraduate Laboratory Internship, and at the University of Michigan through the ZaPP Summer Undergraduate Research Program. For graduate students, UC also has the UC-National Lab In-Residence Graduate Fellowship Internship for graduate students to do research at Los Alamos or Lawrence Livermore National Labs, and DOE offers the Office of Science Graduate Student Research Program award for research at any DOE national lab. While some professors may be hesitant to work with first- and second-year undergraduate students, a great way to get a foot in the door and learn more about the current professor's research interests is to ask to sit in on their group meetings.

Many organizations (university and national labs) also offer summer schools/workshops for students to learn about different aspects of fusion. The U.S. Fusion Energy website (usfusionenergy.org) is a great place to learn about these and other opportunities.