Anne Elisabeth White is an American plasma physicist whose research focuses on

magnetic confinement fusion Magnetic confinement fusion (MCF) is an approach to generate thermonuclear fusion power that uses magnetic fields to confine fusion fuel in the form of a plasma (physics), plasma. Magnetic confinement is one of two major branches of controlled fusi ...

, particularly on measuring

turbulence In fluid dynamics, turbulence or turbulent flow is fluid motion characterized by chaotic changes in pressure and flow velocity. It is in contrast to laminar flow, which occurs when a fluid flows in parallel layers with no disruption between ...

in the flow of plasma in a

tokamak A tokamak (; ) is a device which uses a powerful magnetic field generated by external magnets to confine plasma (physics), plasma in the shape of an axially symmetrical torus. The tokamak is one of several types of magnetic confinement fusi ...

, and on the comparison of experimental results to simulations based on

gyrokinetics Gyrokinetics is a theoretical framework to study plasma behavior on perpendicular spatial scales comparable to the gyroradius and frequencies much lower than the particle cyclotron frequencies. These particular scales have been experimentally s ...

. She works at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

as School of Engineering Distinguished Professor of Engineering in the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering and as associate vice president for research administration.

Education and career

White grew up in

Yuma, Arizona Yuma is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. The city's population was 95,548 at the 2020 census, up from the 2010 census population of 93,064. Yuma is the principal city of the Yuma, Arizona, Metropolitan ...

as the daughter of two lawyers, competed in track and field in high school, and became her school's

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the class rank, highest-performing student of a graduation, graduating class of an academic institution in the United States. The valedictorian is generally determined by an academic institution's grade poin ...

. She graduated from the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

in 2003 with a double major in physics and applied mathematics, and went to the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

for graduate study in physics. There, she received a master's degree in 2004, and completed her Ph.D. in 2008. She joined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2009, and was named head of the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering in 2019. She held that position until 2023, until being named as associate vice president for research administration.

Recognition

White was the 2014 recipient of the Katherine Weimer Award for Women in Plasma Science of the

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of ...

Division of Plasma Physics, given "for fundamental contributions to the understanding of turbulent transport in tokamaks through development and application of electron cyclotron emission diagnostics and insightful comparison of plasma fluctuations with gyrokinetic simulation predictions". She was one of two 2014 recipients of the David J. Rose Excellence in Fusion Engineering Award of Fusion Power Associates. She was named as a

Fellow of the American Physical Society The American Physical Society honors members with the designation ''Fellow'' for having made significant accomplishments to the field of physics. The following lists are divided chronologically by the year of designation. * List of fellows of the ...

in 2019, "for outstanding contributions and leadership in understanding turbulent electron heat transport in magnetically confined fusion plasmas via diagnostic development, novel experimentation, and validation of nonlinear gyrokinetic codes".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:White, Anne E. Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American plasma physicists American women physicists University of Arizona alumni University of California, Los Angeles alumni Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty Fellows of the American Physical Society