Andrew Lanzrath

Andrew Lanzrath is a graduate student in nuclear science and engineering, designing diagnostics to advance the study of inertial confinement fusion—a leading platform for achieving net energy from fusion and probing fundamental plasma physics. His research focuses on MagSpec, a high-efficiency charged particle spectrometer that analyzes fusion reaction products from experiments at the National Ignition Facility and the OMEGA laser. These measurements inform models of plasma conditions during fusion implosions, helping researchers optimize performance for clean energy generation and nuclear astrophysics. As a MathWorks Fellow, Andrew will refine MATLAB-based models that simulate charged particle trajectories in magnetic fields, enabling the robust reconstruction of spectra from detector data. He uses the ode45 solver to model Lorentz-force dynamics, the Parallel Computing Toolbox to accelerate Monte Carlo simulations, and the Statistics and Machine Learning Toolbox to conduct Bayesian error analysis. His work could significantly enhance the precision and speed of diagnostic development, thereby strengthening the experimental foundation for fusion energy and contributing to our understanding of the early universe.