Nick Schwartz, doctoral candidate in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, is representing the University of Maryland in the international Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Video Competition.
Vote NOW to help him win the $1,000 People's Choice Award! Voting closes January 8, 2025.
The competition, hosted by Universitas 21 (U21), an international network of research universities, challenges doctoral students to communicate the significance of their research to a broad audience in just three minutes.
“For decades, we've fed our planet unhealthy food – which has made it hot and gassy" says Nick, whose research challenges the way we think about energy.
He’s found that fusion energy could offer a solution: clean, green electricity without radioactive waste. The catch? It’s extremely hot – 100 million °C to be exact – and the challenge is keeping that heat contained in a magnetic “bowl.”
Nick is testing a new material, hexagonal boron nitride, to withstand the extreme heat and particle damage. His work could be a major step toward feeding our planet healthy, green fusion food.