Lecture: Case for a US Degree in Fusion Engineering - Brighton Library

Abstract:

As of March 31, 2026, fusion startups had received or been promised $17.88 billion in funding, although $7.5 billion of this total was in China. An additional $885 million was announced by three fusion startups in Germany, Seattle, and New Jersey in late spring. As of mid-November 2025, the Fusion Industry Association estimated that more than 56 firms and 4,000 people were working in the industry. In 2024, an MIT report estimated that the fusion industry could create at least $3.6 trillion in economic impact, and in 2025, the San Diego Economic Development Authority predicted that fusion could create 40,000 jobs in California alone. State governments have responded, with fusion-specific legislation signed by governors in Wisconsin, Washington, and California; fusion-specific legislation was also introduced in the Ohio legislature in spring 2026. The central argument advanced by roughly half of these firms is that the addition of superconducting magnets could enable fusion systems to produce net power. The SPARC reactor, currently under construction by Commonwealth Fusion Systems in Devens, Massachusetts, will test this premise when it begins operation next year. Now is a good time to consider how academia can train students to meet the needs of this emerging industry. Although University of Wisconsin–Madison launched a fusion concentration in May 2025 and Columbia University announced a fusion minor in January 2026, there is currently no four-year degree program focused on fusion engineering in the United States. Meanwhile, University of Science and Technology of China announced such a program on May 11, 2026.

This talk will present a proposed 139-credit-hour undergraduate curriculum that draws upon existing coursework in nuclear engineering, regulation and policy, techno-economic analysis, superconductivity, plasma physics, and physics. A traditional engineering mathematics sequence is outlined alongside a laboratory track that includes two hands-on laboratory courses, two software laboratories, and a 40-hour Radiation Safety Certification program. The curriculum also includes freshman-level physics and engineering laboratories. The largest capital expense for colleges would be the purchase of a fusor for a laboratory course during the sophomore year. Seven semesters include new fusion-specific courses: Introduction to Fusion Energy, Business of Fusion Energy, Regulating Fusion Power, Introduction to Inertial Fusion Energy, Introduction to Magnetic Confinement Fusion, Plant Systems Integration, and a capstone course Fusion Plant Design. The curriculum also proposes nine electives, including four technical electives and five focused on entrepreneurship. Finally, the talk will examine how this material could be adapted into a fusion master's program.