Humankind has always looked up at the stars and wondered how everything is connected. In our modern, busy everyday life it can be difficult to remember to stop for a few seconds and allow yourself to feel that sense of wonder and awe. I have been fortunate to study and get to work with physics for most of my life and, by doing so, regularly connect with that feeling of how truly incredible our universe is. There are so many mysteries left to discover and understand, and I am grateful to have physics as a compass when navigating through life.

To complete my engineering studies at the Royal Institute of Technology, KTH, Stockholm, I chose to undertake a Master of Science in Theoretical Physics. How the laws of nature makes everything tick has always aroused my curiousity and motivated me to learn more. However, the theoretical physics of today will be used to realize the technology of tomorrow, not today. Since I am determined to use my knowledge to make a positive impact here and now, I found myself drawn to an applied area of physics known as fusion plasma physics.

The works of both my master's thesis at the Royal Institute of Technology, KTH, Stockholm, and my PhD dissertation at the Technical University of Denmark, DTU, Copenhagen, were done within the field of fusion plasma physics. Specifically, for my master’s thesis project, I added a poloidal component to the magnetic field in the FEMIC-code for simulation of ion-cyclotron resonance heating in fusion plasmas.

Master’s Thesis - Royal Institute of Technology, KTH

For my PhD project, I investigated how sensitive various diagnostics are to fast-ion drift orbits with different energies and trajectories. I also developed new methods for analyzing fast-ion orbits, as well as new interactive tools for teaching and analysis.

PhD Dissertation - Technical University of Denmark, DTU

I feel fortunate to have been given the opportunity to contribute to the field of fusion plasma physics both as a MSc student and as a PhD student. To be able to contribute towards the realization of the 'holy grail' of energy production is an amazing feeling and I would recommend anyone who is considering working in the field to do so.