After ORNL senior research scientist Zeke Unterberg was recognized in 2011 with a Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science’s Early Career Award, he took on the task of studying edge-localized modes (ELM), one of the most common complications in operating tokamaks.
“These high-energy ‘burps’ akin to solar flares can quickly damage or destroy reactor vessel components exposed to the plasma boundary. Therefore, we need a detailed understanding of tokamak ELMs as we move closer to making nuclear fusion reactors a reality,” he explained.
Ten years after receiving the distinction, Unterberg is now the Power Exhaust and Particle Control group leader, being recognized as one of the world experts in the study of the boundary plasma and plasma materials interactions in fusion devices.
"The Early Career Award program gave me the opportunity to explore the issues for bringing fusion energy to the grid that I thought were most critical. This freedom allowed my team to pursue higher-risk/higher-reward research topics not always available to researchers in traditional funding avenues. I'm very grateful to this program and the career development opportunities it provided," he said.
Read more about Unterberg’s work and his scientific journey in this profile recently published by the DOE’s Office of Science.
