Research Facilities

Please use the links below to explore the on and off-campus facilities utilized by Columbia researchers.

Research Facilities

High-Beta Tokamak - Extended Pulse (HBT-EP)

The on-campus, student-run tokamak at Columbia University, exploring the control of magneto-hydrodynamic instabilities in plasmas.

Columbia Non-Neutral Torus (CNT Stellarator)

The Columbia Non-neutral Torus (CNT) is a small stellarator at the Columbia Plasma Physics Laboratory (Columbia University) designed to conduct the first investigation of non-neutral plasmas confined on magnetic surfaces.

Collisionless Terella Experiment (CTX)

A small on-campus experiment designed to understand the basic principles of collisionless transport of energetic plasma in planetary magnetospheres and to identify mechanisms causing charged particle energization and flux modulations

DIII-D National Fusion Facility

DIII-D, the largest magnetic fusion user facility in the U.S., is a tokamak confinement device with significant engineering flexibility to explore the optimization of the advanced tokamak approach to fusion energy production.

National Spherical Torus Experiment Upgrade (NSTX-U)

The NSTX-U is a magnetic confinement fusion facility employing a spherical torus confinement configuration to explore the potential stability and confinement advantages of this compact tokamak concept.

International Tokamaks

Fusion energy research is a highly international activity, offering opportunities to conduct research overseas.

Research Projects

Disruption Mitigation Research

Design against off-normal events is an essential part of fusion energy research. The rapid quench of the tokamak plasma (called a 'disruption') releases a burst of energy into the reactor vessel that must be controlled. Research involves designing systems and techniques to manage this energy release in a benign manner.

Reactor Scenario Development

Columbia scientists combine the most promising elements of fusion reactor research to produce stable and powerful plasmas.  

Tokamak Edge Stability

Like the surface of the sun, the edge of tokamak plasmas are susceptible to bursty instabilities that must be controlled to interface the hot plasma to a material wall.