Professional Background

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California (2004−present)

• Experimental physicist assigned to the LLNL collaboration on the DIII-D National Fusion Facility at General Atomics, San Diego, California
• Leader of the DIII-D Dynamics and Controls (D&C) research group (2016–present)
  • Organize 50+ Ph.D. physicists from multiple institutions to help define and execute ~1/5-1/4 of the DIII-D experimental program
  • Includes all inductive and advanced steady-state operating scenario development for ITER and other future tokamaks, MHD stability physics, plasma control, and disruption mitigation
  • Responsibilities range from technical support and guidance of individual experiments to long term planning of program goals and upgrades
• LLNL principle investigator for an international collaboration project on long-pulse tokamak operation (2013–present)
  • Work with a multi-institutional team to adapt DIII-D operating scenarios to the superconducting EAST tokamak in Hefei, China
• Responsible for the DIII-D Motional Stark Effect (MSE) diagnostic (2007−present)
  • Key optical diagnostic measures plasma electric current density critical for realtime control and detailed analysis of plasma equilibrium, stability, transport, and current drive
  • Leader of the DIII-D Steady-state Scenarios topical area within D&C group (2012–2016)
  • Deputy leader of the DIII-D Steady-state Integration Working Group (2011–2012)
  • Postdoctoral physicist: built and operated a new MSE diagnostic on DIII-D (2004−2007)

Graduate research: diagnosed and explained 3D magnetic structure of a spheromak formed by coaxial helicity injection (Sustained Spheromak Physics Experiment, LLNL, 1999–2004)

Member of International Tokamak Physics Activity Integrated Operating Scenarios Topical Group (2017–present)

Research Interests

• Magnetic confinement fusion energy
• Fully non-inductive tokamak operating scenarios, stability, transport, and current drive optimization and control
• Optical measurements of plasma internal magnetic fields and currents

PhD, Aeronautics & Astronautics, University of Washington, 2004

MS, Aeronautics & Astronautics, University of Washington, 1999

BS, Physics & Astronomy, University of Rochester, 1997

• C.T. Holcomb, et al. Fast-ion transport in qmin>2, high-β steady-state scenarios on DIII-D, Physics of Plasmas, 22, 055904 (2015).
• C.T. Holcomb, et al. Steady state scenario development with elevated minimum safety factor on DIII-D, Nuclear Fusion, 54, 093009 (2014).
• C. T. Holcomb, et al. The effect of safety factor profile on transport in steady-state, high performance scenarios. Physics of Plasmas, 19, 032501 (2012).
• C. T. Holcomb, et al. Optimizing stability, transport, and divertor operation through plasma shaping for steady-state scenario development in DIII-D. Physics of Plasmas, 16, 056116 (2009).
• C.T. Holcomb, et al. Overview of equilibrium reconstruction on DIII-D using new measurements from an expanded motional Stark effect diagnostic. Review of Scientific Instruments, 79, 10F518 (2008).
• C.T. Holcomb, et al. Motional Stark effect diagnostic expansion on DIII-D for enhanced current and Er profile measurements. Review of Scientific Instruments, 77, 10E506 (2006).
• C.T. Holcomb et al., Nonpertubing field profile measurements of a sustained spheromak, Review of Scientific Instruments 72, 1054 (2001).
• C.T. Holcomb et al., An Overview of the Motional Stark Effect Diagnostic On DIII-D and Design Work For An ITER MSE, AIP Conference Proceedings 988, 214 (2008)
• C.T. Holcomb et al., Sustained spheromak coaxial gun operation in the presence of an n=1 magnetic distortion, Physics of Plasmas 13, 022504 (2006).

2017 Recipient of Fusion Power Associates DAVID J. ROSE EXCELLENCE IN FUSION ENGINEERING AWARD