David A Rasmussen

Bio

David Rasmussen is the senior advisor for US ITER, having served in multiple roles including most recently as head of fusion systems integration. He has more than 30 years of plasma science experience in diagnostics and technology for magnetic, inertial confinement, and plasma processing systems. 

David led the Plasma Technology and Applications Group at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Fusion Energy Division through 2012. In that role he led the development of plasma heating and fueling systems that have been deployed worldwide on fusion experiments.

He has conducted plasma heating research at the Advanced Toroidal Facility, Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor, Compact Helical System stellarator, Wendelstein stellarator, DIII-D tokamak, and National Spherical Torus. From 1995 to 1997, he managed the semiconductor Plasma Processing Diagnostic Program at SEMATECH in Austin, Texas.

Throughout his career at US ITER and other organizations, he has been committed to mentoring the next generation of fusion professionals, including interns and early career staff.

David earned a bachelor’s degree in physics, a master’s degree in engineering-applied science, and a PhD in applied science plasma physics from the University of California, Davis.

Publications