Dennis G. Whyte

A recognized leader in fusion research, Professor Whyte’s research in the magnetic confinement of plasmas sets us on an innovative and faster path to producing fusion energy. He has published over 380 articles on a wide range of fusion science and technology. He is one of the leaders of the SPARC project, a collaboration between Commonwealth Fusion Systems, which he co-founded, and MIT to design and build a high-field fusion device to demonstrate net energy production at commercial scale for the first time. Many of the technology approaches underpinning the high-field approach to fusion energy, including SPARC, were formed over the last decade in his MIT fusion design class: utilizing magnets from high-temperature superconductors, RF heating, demountable magnets for modular assembly and maintenance, and liquid immersion blankets for robust energy removal. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society, has served on committees for the National Academies and Royal Society, and has won the Fusion Power Associates Leadership Award and the 2013 Nuclear Fusion Prize. He previously served as Department Head of Nuclear Science and Engineering and Director of the Plasma Science & Fusion Center, both at MIT.

• Governor General of Canada Medal 1982
• Natural Science Engineering and Research Council of Canada Doctoral Award 1988
• Fusion Canada Postdoctoral Research Award 1992
• Natural Science Engineering and Research Council of Canada Postdoctoral Fellowship Award 1993
• Department of Energy Plasma Physics Junior Faculty Development Award 2003
• Fellow, American Physical Society, Division of Plasma Physics 2006
• Ruth & Joel Spira Award for Distinguished Teaching MIT School of Engineering 2009
• Ruth & Joel Spira Award for Distinguished Teaching MIT School of Engineering 2013
• 2013 Nuclear Fusion Award 2013
• MIT Hitachi America Professor of Engineering Chair 2016
• Fusion Power Associates Leadership Award 2018
• University of Saskatchewan Alumni Lifetime Achievement Award 2022
• Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique Alumni Award “Prix Lumière” 2023
• Harry M. Markowitz Special Distinction Award Journal of Investment Management 2024