Willy Burke had never heard of a “fusor.” Until three years ago, the research engineer from MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC) was not familiar with the portable device that uses an electric field to accelerate ions to energies high enough to fuse nuclei. These had lately gained popularity as fusion equipment you could “build in your basement.” Then he met MIT undergraduate Alex Calburean ’19 and agreed to oversee his research project. With an enthusiastic and knowledgeable student at his side, Burke learned how to build his first fusor, step by step.
Now, after IAP 2020, he has guided the successful creation of 14 fusors, in the process inaugurating a new makerspace sponsored by the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering (NSE), the PSFC, and MIT’s Environment, Health and Safety Office.
This nuclear makerspace, dubbed “MIT…
