General Atomics and UC San Diego Join Forces on Fusion Energy Innovation

General Atomics and UC San Diego Join Forces on Fusion Energy Innovation

In a significant development for clean energy research, General Atomics (GA) and the University of California San Diego have announced the establishment of a Fusion Data Science and Digital Engineering Center in San Diego. This collaboration aims to accelerate fusion energy development through advanced digital engineering, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and high-performance computing.

"We are proud to join forces with UC San Diego at the interface of fusion and data science in order to take significant steps toward fusion energy," said Raffi Nazikian, director of fusion data science at General Atomics. The initiative will leverage cutting-edge technologies like digital twin simulations to optimize system design and enhance performance while reducing development time.

The new center is part of UC San Diego's broader Fusion Engineering Institute, which brings together students, faculty, and external partners to address the engineering challenges of practical fusion energy development. Javier E. Garay, director of the institute, emphasized that the collaboration highlights "how important data science, artificial intelligence and high-performance computing are for solving the challenges holding back cost-effective fusion energy."

This partnership builds on a 40-year history of collaboration between the two organizations, dating back to their joint establishment of the San Diego Supercomputer Center. The initiative will also involve industry leaders Ansys and NVIDIA, who will contribute engineering simulation software and GPU computing capabilities respectively.

Beyond research, the center will create educational and workforce development opportunities for students across California universities and community colleges, preparing the next generation of fusion engineers and scientists.

Fusion energy, which replicates the process powering the sun, promises virtually limitless clean energy with no carbon emissions or long-lived radioactive waste. Unlike current nuclear power plants that use fission (splitting atoms), fusion joins atoms together to release energy.

"This is a breakthrough moment for fusion energy research in California, especially San Diego," said Anantha Krishnan, senior vice president for the General Atomics Energy Group, highlighting how the center will work in synergy with experimental data from the Department of Energy's DIII-D National Fusion Facility operated by General Atomics.

The initiative positions San Diego as a hub for fusion energy innovation while strengthening California's leadership in this rapidly evolving field.

General Atomics and UC San Diego Launch Fusion Data Science and Digital Engineering Center