Progress, Potential, and Possibilities Podcast / Show Dr. Brian Grierson, Ph.D. - Director of Fusion Energy Technologies, General Atomics - Bringing the Power of the Stars to Earth
Dr. Brian A. Grierson, Ph.D. is a leading physicist and engineer in magnetic fusion energy and is currently Director of Fusion Energy Technologies at General Atomics ( https://www.ga.com/ ) in San Diego. In this role, he leads the technical vision, design strategy, and integration of plasma physics, engineering, diagnostics, and tritium fuel‐cycle technologies for fusion pilot‐plants aimed at moving fusion from experimental facilities toward viable commercial power ( https://www.ga.com/magnetic-fusion/ ).
Dr. Grierson’s career bridges academic research and applied development. He earned his B.S. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2004, majoring in Applied Mathematics, Engineering & Physics, with emphases in nuclear engineering and plasma physics. He then pursued graduate studies at Columbia University, where he obtained his M.S. (2005), M.Phil. (2008), and Ph.D. in Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics in 2009, defending a dissertation titled “Interchange Turbulence in a Dipole‐Confined Plasma.”
After his Ph.D., Dr. Grierson joined the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory ( PPPL - https://www.pppl.gov/ ), working on experimental diagnostics and plasma behavior at the DIII‐D National Fusion Facility ( operated by GA - https://d3dfusion.org/ ) and other tokamak projects.
Over several years Dr. Grierson held roles including Associate Research Physicist, Staff Physicist, and Research Physicist within PPPL’s ITER & Tokamaks Department, and led groups focused on the plasma edge (“pedestal”), ion transport, and diagnostics development.
In 2014, Dr. Grierson was awarded a U.S. Department of Energy Early Career Research Program grant to advance diagnostics of main‐ion behavior at the edge of fusion plasmas — work critical for understanding confinement, stability, and performance of devices like ITER and future tokamaks.
In recognition of his research contributions, Dr. Grierson received the Kaul Foundation Prize for Excellence in Plasma Physics Research and Technology Development in 2017.
In 2021, he joined General Atomics to direct the Fusion Pilot Plant Design Hub and served as Director of the Fusion Pilot Plant Design Hub for 4 years. Under his leadership, GA has put forth a concept for a compact advanced steady‐state tokamak Fusion Pilot Plant (FPP) that draws on innovations in plasma physics, simulation tools like the proprietary FUSE (Fusion Synthesis Engine), modular breeding blanket design, materials engineering, control, diagnostics, and systems integration ( https://www.ga.com/magnetic-fusion/promise-of-fusion ).
Dr. Grierson has also played a major role in partnerships such as GA’s collaboration with Savannah River National Laboratory ( https://www.srnl.gov/ ) to address tritium fuel handling — a critical component of making fusion power practical.
General Atomics (GA) is an American energy and defense corporation headquartered in San Diego, California, that specializes in research and technology development. This includes physics research in support of nuclear fission and nuclear fusion energy. The company also provides research and manufacturing services for remotely operated surveillance aircraft, including its MQ-1 Predator drones, airborne sensors, and advanced electric, electronic, wireless, and laser technologies.
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