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Princeton nuclear physicist Liu Chang leaves US for China in fusion energy quest

Plasma specialist heads to Peking University to pursue magnetic confinement on mission to make nuclear fusion a reality

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Nuclear physicist Liu Chang, who is conducting research that is considered crucial to achieving viable nuclear fusion energy, has left Princeton University for a position at Peking University in Beijing. Photo: Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL)
Dannie Pengin Beijing
After more than a decade in the United States, nuclear physicist Liu Chang, whose research has been crucial in the journey to achieve fusion energy, has left Princeton University for a position at Peking University in Beijing.

Last month, Liu joined the Institute of Heavy Ion Physics at Peking University’s School of Physics as an assistant professor, according to a post on his new department’s social media account.

Liu’s research has centred mainly on plasma physics and nuclear fusion. In particular, he has focused on solving problems related to the physics of runaway electrons – a kind of energy leakage – and other energetic particles in magnetic confinement fusion devices.

Magnetic confinement is now seen as the primary path to make nuclear fusion a reality. The most common fusion reactors of this type are tokamaks and stellarators.

Research by Liu has been published in top academic journals in his field, such as Physical Review Letters and Nuclear Fusion.

For example, in 2023, a team of researchers led by Liu unveiled a promising approach to mitigating damaging runaway electrons caused by disturbances in tokamak fusion devices, by harnessing a unique type of plasma wave. The study was published in Physical Review Letters.

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