Fellows

Rishabh Datta

Rishabh Datta is a PhD candidate whose research is focused on magnetized plasma, a quasi- neutral gas of ions and electrons threaded by magnetic fields that makes up the vast majority of the universe. Specifically, Rishabh seeks to gain a deeper understanding of the fundamental properties of magnetized plasma, knowledge that has important implications for satellites, spacecraft, and other technologies in communication, security, and space exploration. With the support of a MathWorks Fellowship, Rishabh will study the role of strong radiative cooling in plasma shocks and magnetic reconnection via state-of-the-art laboratory and numerical studies, including work at Sandia National Laboratory’s Z pulsed power facility. His project, which draws extensively on existing and custom-built MATLAB tools, combines cutting-edge plasma theory, simulation, and experiments to design new experimental platforms, advanced X-ray and magnetic diagnostics, and high-fidelity numerical simulations on high-performance supercomputing facilities. Rishabh is collaborating with some of the world’s leading plasma physicists and has produced the first direct observations of reconnection and plasma shocks in a strongly radiatively cooled and magnetized plasma—a vital step in understanding and modeling spacecraft interactions in these astrophysical environments.

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