From the Director

The Plasma Science and Technology Institute (PSTI) at UCLA represents the largest university-based research effort in the world related to the forth state of matter known as plasma. It is an Organized Research Unit involving 36 faculty and about 150 researchers, postdoctoral scholars, and graduate students from a variety of departments.

The topics covered within the PSTI include fusion energy, space and astrophysical plasmas, advanced accelerators and radiation sources, plasma-materials interactions, and space propulsion.

Unparalleled in its combination of breadth and depth, the PSTI offers unique opportunities in research and education.

- Troy Carter, Director, PSTI.


Latest News

On Wednesday November 17, 2021 The United States House Science Committee held a hearing to determine the scientific focus of fusion energy research. Troy Carter, Directory of the PSTI, was one of the witnesses leading the development of a long-range plan for fusion and plasma science programs funded by the Department of Energy. You can read his remarks here.

The American Institute of Physics (AIP) has more information on their website. You can read the details here.


Margaret Kivelson, professor emeritus of space physics in the UCLA College, has been honored as the 2021 recipient of the American Physical Society’s James Clerk Maxwell Prize for her contributions to the field of plasma physics.

The prize’s citation praises Kivelson for her "ground-breaking discoveries in space plasma physics and for seminal theoretical contributions to understanding space plasma processes and magnetohydrodynamics." The award, which includes a $10,000 prize, will be presented at the annual meeting of the APS Division of Plasma Physics this November.

Read the complete story here.

Our faculty

PSTI collaborators include faculty members from a variety of UCLA departments. Explore our faculty.

Events

Plasma Fest was a one-day workshop held at UCLA on Tuesday September 22, 2015. Read more.

Seminars

Find out what plasma seminars will be held throughout the academic year. Check our seminars schedule.