SCIPP researchers Simone Mazza and Bruce Schumm are partnering with the company Advent Diamond to develop diamond-based sensors designed to monitor the intense radiation inside future fusion-energy reactors. The sensors are being designed to detect high-energy “burn” products from fusion reactions, offering a key diagnostic tool for safe reactor operation.
As part of the University of California’s multi-campus initiative on fusion energy, UCSC will receive $555,000 of an $8 million funding package to support this work. The research aligns with growing interest in fusion power—driven by recent breakthroughs in ignition, billions of dollars in private investment, and California legislation promoting fusion-pilot plants.
While much progress has been made, SCIPP researchers note that significant engineering, materials and diagnostic challenges remain before fusion can transition from lab to grid. Their collaboration will focus on modeling, manufacturing and measuring materials and sensors capable of surviving and operating inside the intense radiation environment of a fusion reactor.
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