Michel Laberge is a Canadian

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

and entrepreneur. He is the founder and CSO of

General Fusion General Fusion is a Canadian company based in Richmond, British Columbia, which is developing a fusion power technology based on magnetized target fusion (MTF). The firm was founded in 2002 by Dr. Michel Laberge. , it has more than 150 employ ...

, and was previously a senior physicist and principal engineer at Creo Products for nine years.

Education

Dr. Laberge received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree and a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

degree in physics from

Laval University Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of: People * House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne * Laval (surname) Places Belgium * Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Luxe ...

. In 1990, he earned his Ph.D. in physics from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

, focusing on

laser fusion Inertial confinement fusion (ICF) is a fusion energy process that initiates nuclear fusion reactions by compressing and heating targets filled with fuel. The targets are small pellets, typically containing deuterium (2H) and tritium (3H). Typicall ...

. Following his Ph.D, Laberge undertook two consecutive

postdoctoral research A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary acade ...

positions, first in 1991 at the

École Polytechnique (, ; also known as Polytechnique or l'X ) is a ''grande école'' located in Palaiseau, France. It specializes in science and engineering and is a founding member of the Polytechnic Institute of Paris. The school was founded in 1794 by mat ...

in Paris then at the National Research Council in Ottawa (1992).

Business career

During his time at Creo Products, Dr. Laberge developed digital laser technologies for industrial laser printers. In the 1990s, his role as senior physicist and principal engineer involved aligning laser diodes to mitigate the effects of microbanding - a printing artifact that results in unwanted parallel stripes. Later, Laberge supervised a team of five engineers to develop a

digital micromirror device The digital micromirror device, or DMD, is the microoptoelectromechanical system (MOEMS) that is the core of the trademarked Digital Light Processing (DLP) projection technology from Texas Instruments (TI). The device is used in digital proj ...

for the booming telecom industry. The team produced a device in six months that outperformed the market competition, but the project was terminated due to lack of investment as a result of the

telecoms crash The Telecoms crash, also known as the Telecommunications Bubble was a stock market crash that occurred in 2001, after the bursting of the dot-com bubble. The telecommunications industry had experienced significant growth and investment during the ...

. After his work at Creo, Dr. Laberge founded

in an effort to demonstrate the feasibility of

magnetized target fusion Magnetized target fusion (MTF) is a fusion power concept that combines features of magnetic confinement fusion (MCF) and inertial confinement fusion (ICF). Like the magnetic approach, the fusion fuel is confined at lower density by magnetic field ...

as a commercial energy source. Initially, Dr. Laberge worked alone in a converted gas-station garage in

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

to develop a

proof of concept A proof of concept (POC or PoC), also known as proof of principle, is an inchoate realization of a certain idea or method in order to demonstrate its feasibility or viability. A proof of concept is usually small and may or may not be complete ...

prototype reactor. The company has since secured funding and has expanded to larger facilities, where 65 people were employed as of 2017.

Patents

Dr. Laberge holds several patents in the United States and Canada, primarily related to optics and fusion applications. * * * * * * * * * *

References

Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Canadian physicists Université Laval alumni University of British Columbia alumni {{Canada-scientist-stub