Dr Ceri Brenner | |
---|---|
Born | Ceri Brenner |
Alma mater | University of Oxford University of Strathclyde |
Awards | IOP Paterson Medal (2017) |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Physics Plasma physics Laser science Innovation |
Institutions | ANSTO |
Thesis | Laser-driver Proton Beams: Mechanisms for spectral control and efficiency enhancement (2012) |
Website | www |
Ceri Brenner (born August 1987) is a plasma physicist at the Science and Technology Facilities Council. [1] [2]
She studied physics at the University of Oxford. Following a summer placement at the Central Laser Facility at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Brenner developed an interest in high power laser-plasma physics. Brenner earned a PhD in physics from the University of Strathclyde under the supervision of David Neely and Paul McKenna. She completed her doctoral experiments at Central Laser Facility, UK and the GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research in Germany. [3] Her doctoral thesis was titled 'Laser-driver Proton Beams: Mechanisms for spectral control and efficiency enhancement'. [3]
Dr Brenner is the Leader of the Centre for Accelerator Science at ANSTO in Sydney, Australia. In this role she oversees a large team of accelerator scientists and engineers operating the centre's four ion accelerators. [4]
From 2008 to 2021 Brenner worked for Science and Technology Facilities Council at the Central Laser Facility (CLF). At CLF, Brenner used the GEMINI super intense laser to investigate the fourth state of matter; plasma. [5] Brenner is established as an expert in the applications of laser-accelerators, her work has investigated the potential industrial applications of neutron and x-ray beam generation. [6]
Alongside her research, Brenner works with industry and business partners to translate her research findings into useful industrial applications in a range of areas including nuclear waste, aerospace, fusion energy and healthcare. She was recognised for her work in leading collaborations between industry and academia, being awarded the Institute of Physics Clifford Paterson Medal in 2017. [7]
Brenner is a science communicator, she has written a quarterly column in the New Humanist magazine since 2014 where she conveys recent developments in physics to a lay audience. [8] She won "I'm a Scientist, Get me out of here" in 2011 for communicating complex physics to school children. [9]
Brenner is a vocal advocate for women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers. She is a founding member of ScienceGrrl; a non-profit which celebrates and supports women in science. [10] [11] She is also an advocate for trans and the LGBT+ community and signed a letter to The Times newspaper to support the rights of trans and gender diverse people in universities. [12]
DESY, short for Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, is a national research centre for fundamental science located in Hamburg and Zeuthen near Berlin in Germany. It operates particle accelerators used to investigate the structure, dynamics and function of matter, and conducts a broad spectrum of interdisciplinary scientific research in four main areas: particle and high energy physics; photon science; astroparticle physics; and the development, construction and operation of particle accelerators. Its name refers to its first project, an electron synchrotron. DESY is publicly financed by the Federal Republic of Germany and the Federal States of Hamburg and Brandenburg and is a member of the Helmholtz Association.
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, originally named the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, is a federally funded research and development center in Menlo Park, California, United States. Founded in 1962, the laboratory is now sponsored by the United States Department of Energy and administrated by Stanford University. It is the site of the Stanford Linear Accelerator, a 3.2 kilometer (2-mile) linear accelerator constructed in 1966 that could accelerate electrons to energies of 50 GeV.
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The plasma window is a technology that fills a volume of space with plasma confined by a magnetic field. With current technology, this volume is quite small and the plasma is generated as a flat plane inside a cylindrical space.
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Central Laser Facility (CLF) is a research facility in the UK. It is part of the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. The facility is dedicated to studying the applications of high energy lasers. It was opened in 1976. As of 2013 there are 5 active laser laboratories at the CLF: Vulcan, Astra Gemini, Artemis, ULTRA, and OCTOPUS. The facility provides both high-power and high-sensitivity lasers for study across broad fields of science from atomic and plasma physics to medical diagnostics, biochemistry and environmental science. Also through the Centre for Advanced Laser Technology and Application (CALTA), CLF is responsible for laser development. DiPOLE is the brainchild of that project.
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