CHEONHO BAE

Ph.D. Candidate, Georgia Tech

Biography 

Cheonho Bae came into the field of controlled fusion energy research after diverse professional and educational experiences, strongly believing that fusion is the future energy for mankind. He finished his undergraduate study at the United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado, as an exchange cadet from South Korea. After graduation, he returned to South Korea, was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Republic of Korea Air Force, flew various military jets, and served in military until his separation in 2005. In August 2005, he started his graduate study as an Aerospace Engineering major at Georgia Tech but was later fascinated with the on-going international effort in controlled fusion energy research and decided to be a part of the effort. He is currently pursuing Ph.D. degree in fusion plasma theory at Georgia Tech.

Education

Ph.D., Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia, U.S.A., in progress
          - Nuclear and Radiological Engineering

M.S., Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia, U.S.A., 2008
          - Aerospace Engineering

M.E., Advanced Institute of Military Science and Technology, Seoul, South Korea, 2001
          - Electronics and Communications Engineering

M.S., University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, North Dakota, U.S.A., 2000
          - Space Studies

B.S., United States Air Force Academy, Colorado, U.S.A.,1992
          - Astronautical Engineering

Ph.D. Dissertation Abstract

The objective of this research is to rederive the neoclassical toroidal and poloidal rotation theory for tokamaks presented earlier by Stacey, Madrekas, and Johnson to take into account the more accurate representation of the equilibrium flux surface geometry given by “the Miller equilibrium model”. It is believed that the rotation of tokamak plasmas is a very important mechanism that is directly related to the stabilization of tokamak plasmas such as MHD(Magnetohydrodynamics) instabilities. Thus, accurate calculation of rotation velocities will be a critical step towards understanding such mechanism and achieving stable burning plasmas in tokamaks.

The earlier derivations of neoclassical rotation theory by Stacey, at el. were based on either simple circular flux surface geometry or equivalent circular geometry of elliptical flux surface model. The results from these studies proved theoretical capabilities in terms of numerically computing the rotation velocities and their asymmetries with simple analytic models. The Miller equilibrium model improves this circular model by taking into account the shifted centers, the elongation, and triangularity. Therefore it is believed that the rederived rotation theory based on the Miller equilibrium model would calculate the plasma rotation velocities much closer to the experimental measurements as well as introduce more asymmetries to the poloidal velocities.

Publications

W. M. Stacey and C. Bae. Representation of the plasma fluid equations in ’miller equilibrium’ analytical flux surface geometry. Physics of Plasmas. 16(082501). 2009.

Distinctions

United States Meritorious Service Medal, 2004