PlasmaSurf Summer School - Lisbon, Portugal
Report by Mohamed Ezzat Mostafa. Powered by FuseNet.
After obtaining my B.Sc. in physics at the Mansoura University in Egypte with honour, I commissioned as a demonstrator at its physics department and I started pre-M.Sc. courses in plasma physics. Then I decided to follow the Erasmus Mundus Fusion-EP programme in Europe. During the programme, it is mandatory to study at two universities in two different countries, which I started at Ghent University in 2015. However, unfortunately I had to postpone my study, but I will resume at the University of Stuttgart in September 2016.
From the 10th to 15th of July, I attended the PlasmaSurf summer school, organized by the Instituto de Plasma e Fusão Nuclear (IPFN), which is part of the Instituto Superior Técnico (IST) of Lisbon, Portugal. The summer school was a nice mix of educative and outdoor activities. The lectures covered the basics of plasma physics, high power lasers and nuclear fusion, focusing on theory, simulations and applications. Futhermore, we also visited the ISTTOK tokamak in Lisbon, which was the first tokamak I had ever seen. The out-of-class activities, inlcuded surfing, kayaking, climbing and a city tour through Lisbon with its rich history.
The development of nuclear fusion as a sustainable and safe energy source for the future, is absolutely necessary to satisfy the increasing need for energy. Knowledge of plasma physics is crucial for this development, because fusion conditions can only be reached in the plasma state. Therefore, I strongly recommend PlasmaSurf to all students who are interest in fusion and plasma physics. The school provides a great introduction to the field and also discusses the problems it is currently facing. The event is also perfect opportunity to meet other people from all over the globe that are interested in making fusion energy happen.
Finally, I would like to thanks IST for hosting the event and their help, especially for Non-European students. Also, I would like to thank FuseNet for their funding. Without it, it would have been impossible for me to attend the school. I hope that FuseNet becomes larger, making it possible for them to fund more promising undergraduate students from all over the globe.
