Professor Carlos Paz-Soldan Honored for Contributions to Plasma Physics Research

Editor's note:

The award recognizes his “groundbreaking contributions and scientific leadership in the understanding of non-axisymmetric magnetic fields and relativistic electrons in tokamak plasmas.”

By
Jesse Adams
July 30, 2021

Professor Carlos Paz-Soldan has been named recipient of the 2021 Thomas H. Stix Award for Outstanding Early Career Contributions to Plasma Physics Research from the American Physical Society (APS). The prestigious award, which honors rising researchers who have accomplished outstanding theoretical, experimental, computational, or technical work across the field, recognizes his “groundbreaking contributions and scientific leadership in the understanding of non-axisymmetric magnetic fields and relativistic electrons in tokamak plasmas.”

“I’m extremely honored to be recognized with this award,” Paz-Soldan said. “It reflects positively on the innovative work being done throughout the fusion community to realize our goal of a new energy source.”

Paz-Soldan joined Columbia Engineering’s Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematicsat the start of this year after serving as a staff scientist in General Atomics’ Magnetic Fusion Energy Division, for which he conducted research at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility and around the world. His work focuses on solving the scientific and technological challenges of harnessing controlled fusion energy on Earth, particularly problems of tokamak operation, stability, and control.

Established in 2013, the Stix Award includes a $3,000 prize and a place of honor at the APS Division of Plasma Physics’ annual meeting this fall.

“Carlos is an outstanding plasma physicist well deserving of this early career recognition,” said Gerald Navratil, Thomas Alva Edison Professor of Applied Physics. “We were delighted when he chose to join us this year as a faculty colleague at Columbia University.”