Ethan Peterson

Bio

Education

• PhD, Physics, University of Wisconsin—Madison, 2019
• MS, Physics, University of Wisconsin—Madison, 2017
• MS, Nuclear Engineering, University of Wisconsin—Madison, 2015
• BS, Nuclear Science and Engineering & Physics, MIT, 2013

Research Positions

• Research Scientist, MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center, 2021-2024
• Postdoctoral Associate, MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center, 2019-2021

Research

Improving Predictive Nuclear Modeling for Fusion Reactor Design

Successful deployment of fusion power plants relies on our ability to accurately predict the effects of high energy neutrons after they leave the plasma. The neutron flux distribution in a fusion reactor has many different qualities from the distribution in a fission reactor, which necessitates different modeling techniques and places emphasis on different analyses that have less mature workflows. For example, fusion reactor geometries are typically much more complicated than fission reactors, resulting in a CAE-first approach to fusion neutronics. To enable high-fidelity modeling of fusion engineering systems, we develop open-source methods and workflows with OpenMC for fusion reactor design, tritium breeding experiments, and interpreting diagnostics.

Fusion Neutronics Validation

The process of validating results from radiation transport simulations for fusion technology applications is critical for ensuring safe and robust operation of fusion power plants. Whereas the fission reactor community has a long history of rigorous benchmarking for criticality safety, the fusion community has far fewer experiments to support the many nuclear analyses necessary to design a fusion power plant. To improve the first principles justification for the design and licensing of fusion power plants, we develop and execute computational and experimental benchmarks for fusion neutronics simulations with a focus on transparency and commitment to open source tools and benchmarks.

Publications

1. E.E. Peterson, P.K. Romano, P.C. Shriwise, P.A. Myers. Development and validation of fully open-source R2S shutdown dose rate capabilities in OpenMC. Nuclear Fusion. 85 (2024)
2. B. Ebiwonjumi, S. Segantin, E.E. Peterson. OpenMC Interpretation of FNS SINBAD Shielding Benchmark Experiments. Fusion Science and Technology. (2024)
3. S.E. Ferry, K.B. Woller, E.E. Peterson, C. Sorensen, D.G. Whyte. The LIBRA experiment: investigating robust tritium accountancy in molten FLiBe exposed to a D-T fusion neutron spectrum. Fusion Science and Technology. (2022)
4. J.W. Bae, E.E. Peterson, J. Shimwell. ARC Reactor Neutronics Multi-Code Validation. Nuclear Fusion. 62, (2022)
5. E.E. Peterson, D. Endrizzi, M. Clark, J. Egedal, K. Flanagan, N.F. Loureiro, J. Milhone, J. Olson, C.R. Sovinec, J. Wallace, C.B. Forest. Laminar and Turbulent Plasmoid Ejection in a Laboratory Parker Spiral Current Sheet. Journal of Plasma Physics 87. (2021)
6. E.E. Peterson, D.A. Endrizzi, M. Beidler, K.J. Bunkers, M. Clark, J. Egedal, K. Flanagan, K.J. McCollam, J. Milhone, J. Olson, C.R. Sovinec, R. Waleffe, J. Wallace, C.B. Forest. A Laboratory Model for the Parker Spiral and Magnetized Stellar Winds. Nature Physics. 15 1095-1100 (2019)

Teaching

22.016 Seminar in Fusion and Plasma Physics
22.05 Neutron Science and Reactor Physics

News

• Smart handling of neutrons is crucial to fusion power success