Dr. Nathaniel Hicks
Associate Professor of Physics, UAA
Hometown: Anchorage, AK
Originally from: Cheney, WA
Ph.D. UCLA, 2006
M.S. UCLA, 2000
B.S. Washington State University, 1998
Future Plans: Keep studying the plasma state of matter and working with my great team of student researchers in the Plasma Lab at UAA!
Plasma physics and fusion energy science are my areas of research emphasis. The plasma state of matter has great interest for me both in terms of its fundamental physics phenomena and for its broad applicability in various topics of science and engineering. Nuclear fusion, in particular, has the potential to provide clean, sustainable energy for all of humanity.
I am studying the conceptual basis for this new type of quasi-neutral plasma confinement, I'm performing particle-in-cell computer simulations to explore it, and I'm designing experiments to test the hypothesis and modeling results.