Newsfrom our faculty members and students
Faculty members in Stanford & Elsevier Top 2%
October 07 2024Stanford University and Elsevier released an update of the World’s Top 2% Scientists list, which includes 200,000 researchers. In total, more than 150 Técnico researchers are among the most-cited scientists in 2023 worldwide, with 2 belonging to the scientific area of Plasma Physics, Lasers and Nuclear Fusion (FPLFN): Luís Oliveira e Silva and Vasco Guerra.
Stanford and Elsevier also published the list of the 2% scientists with exceptional impact in their long-standing scientific careers, which includes 3 researchers from FPLFN: Luís Lemos Alves, Luís Oliveira e Silva and Vasco Guerra.
Detailed information is available here.
Congratulations to all!
MOOC Técnico “Plasma Transport”
August 29 2024The Instituto Superior Técnico’s MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) platform, MOOC Técnico, is launching a new online course in Plasma Physics: “Plasma Transport”.
The course is aimed at undergraduate and graduate university students interested in acquiring / deepening their knowledge of Plasma Physics.
Plasma is the fourth state of matter, obtained from the ionisation of a gas that produces a new (quasi-)neutral medium whose charged particles exhibit a collective behaviour. The ionisation of the gas can be partial, giving rise to weakly ionised plasmas such as those found in the ionosphere or in microelectronics laboratories, or total, in which case it produces the matter found inside stars or in nuclear fusion devices.
“Plasma Transport” studies the transport of particles in plasmas using a fluid description. The online course presents the derivation of the general equations of the fluid model, and then applies them to the description of weakly ionised and fully ionised plasmas. “Plasma Transport” is the first in a series of ‘Plasma Physics’ MOOCs from Instituto Superior Técnico, authored and edited by the scientific area of Plasma Physics, Lasers and Nuclear Fusion at the Department of Physics at Técnico.
Access to materials:
- Free access after enrolment to the course content, which runs completely online;
- The contents are always open and each participant takes the course at their own pace;
- The certificate, without an assigned grade, will be available on the platform for those who have completed the course’s assessment activities;
- The course materials will remain available to all those enrolled after the end of this edition, so that they can return to the content at a later date;
- The videos included in the MOOC are spoken and subtitled in Portuguese.
Course start date: 9 September 2024
Course end date: 8 November 2024
PlasmaSurf 2024
July 29 2024From 14 to 20 July 2024, the 11th edition of PlasmaSurf brought together 44 participants from 18 nationalities to Lisbon, united by their passion for plasma physics. Since 2013, PlasmaSurf is organized by the Institute of Plasmas and Nuclear Fusion (IPFN) and has established itself as a reference summer school in the field of plasma physics and associated technologies. This innovative programme combines scientific learning with outdoor experiences, offering a week full of discoveries and enjoyment.
Each morning, participants delved into a diverse range of topics, including plasma physics and nuclear fusion. Participants enjoyed a mix of specialised lectures, hands-on practical sessions, and innovative activities, covering everything from environmental preservation to the ITER project and the challenges of fusion.
In the afternoons, participants enjoyed outdoor activities along the Portuguese coast, including kayaking, climbing, mountain boarding and surfing… It was a success! After dinner at the hostel, participants had time to relax and unwind, strengthening their relationships and reflecting on the day.
The event culminated on the final day with a visit to the Tokamak ISTTOK and a tour of the vibrant city of Lisbon, where they climbed up and down the charming hills, exploring viewpoints that revealed stunning views of the city and the Tejo River, providing a memorable conclusion to the week.
Faculty member Horácio Fernandes, responsible for the PlasmaSurf events, commented on the importance of the activities and lectures: “PlasmaSurf, in the format it operated this year with an intensive asynchronous parallel programme lasting 3 weeks, allowed some students to delve more deeply into the knowledge of plasma physics and the diagnostics required for this state of matter – plasma – so little known to our students".
He also emphazised the importance of parallel activities: "On the other hand, PlasmaSurf has a parallel programme of activities that allows the students to socialise and create a “PlasmaSurfers” spirit that will certainly be reflected later in the cooperation between them".
Rui Torres receives PhD in Engineering Physics
July 17 2024On 16 June 2024, Dr. Rui Torres received his PhD in Engineering Physics with a thesis entitled 'Dynamics of magnetospheres of rotating compact objects with General Relativity'. His work was supervised by Prof. Luís Oliveira e Silva (IST) and Dr Thomas Grismayer (IST).
The thesis committee consisted of Dr. Benoît Cerutti (CNRS, Univ. Grenoble Alpes, France), Prof. Fabio Bacchini (KU Leuven, Belgium), Prof. David Hilditch (IST), Dr. Thomas Grismayer (IST) and Prof. Luís L. Alves (IST, President).
Congratulations Rui !
Pedro Cosme receives PhD in Engineering Physics
May 21 2024On 21 May 2024, Dr. Pedro Cosme received his PhD in Engineering Physics with a thesis entitled 'Plasmonic Instabilities in Bidimensional Materials'. His work was supervised by Prof. Hugo Terças (IST) and Prof. José Tito de Mendonça (IST).
The thesis committee consisted of Prof. Lars Fritz (U Utrecht, Holland), Prof. Mário Silveirinha (IST), Prof. Nuno Peres (U Minho), Prof. Hugo Terças (IST) and Prof. Luís L. Alves (IST, President).
Congratulations Pedro !