Thomas Varnish

Thomas Varnish is a graduate student in nuclear science and engineering, developing experimental platforms to investigate magnetic reconnection—an energetic plasma process that rapidly converts magnetic energy into particle acceleration and heating. His research focuses on guide-field reconnection, a regime relevant to solar flares and other astrophysical environments with complex magnetic geometries. By embedding magnetic fields within plasma flows, Thomas is designing pulsed-power experiments that probe physics beyond the reach of conventional fluid models. Continuing as a MathWorks Fellow, Thomas is expanding the use of MATLAB and Simulink to support experimental design and 3D magnetostatic modeling for campaigns at the COBRA facility at Cornell. He also contributes to PUFFIN, a next-generation long-pulse generator under development at MIT and Cornell, where he leads efforts in calibration and control system development, as well as automated data acquisition using MathWorks tools. His work could transform how researchers replicate and study high-energy astrophysical phenomena in the lab, advancing experimental capabilities and plasma diagnostics alike.