IPFN - Instituto de Plasmas e Fusão Nuclear

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IPFN - Instituto de Plasmas e Fusão Nuclear

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Instituto de Plasmas e Fusão Nuclear - Associate Laboratory

IPFN's programme is made possible by:

- The contract of Associated Laboratory (LA) granted, in November 2001 by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), to CFN with participation of CFP;
- The Contract of Association signed on January 1st 1990 between the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) and IST (CA-EURATOM/IST). The resulting framework has provided a unique setting for world-class research, fostering scientific and technological excellence in an internationalized context, enabling a stable growing evolution towards a new level of organizational structure, that has culminated with the foundation of IPFN-LA. Leveraging on our wide range of expertise, in our vision IPFN-LA promotes a culture of ambition and leadership, in a permanent pursuit of the most far-reaching and intellectually demanding scientific and technological problems, attracting the best talents in our areas to work in an exciting environment, strongly networked with other world-leading institutions. Our global position allows us to act as a central hub for research, advanced formation and training, and technological transfer in Plasma Physics and Engineering, Controlled Nuclear Fusion, Lasers and Photonics, and Advanced Computing. Our high expertise allows us to have an important participation in the landmark EU large-scale research projects (e.g. JET, ITER, HIPER, ELI) through the collaboration in the scientific and technical activities of these projects, and the active presence on their governing boards. The IPFN-LA will continue to play a key and defining role in the most important international research projects in our fields of activity, as well as in the future directions of EU and Portugal science policy, advising Government agencies in our areas of expertise and contributing to shape the role of the Council of Associated Laboratories as the de facto Portuguese science policy think-tank.

15/10/2026

𝗘𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗜𝗣𝗙𝗡 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱’𝘀 𝗧𝗼𝗽 𝟮% 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀

Compiled by Stanford University and published by Elsevier Scopus, the ranking identifies the world’s most-cited scientists based on citation data, highlighting researchers with significant scientific impact across disciplines.

IPFN scientists among the world’s top 2% cited scientists in 2025: José Tito Mendonça, Luís Lemos Alves, Luis Silva and Vasco Guerra.

IPFN scientists included in the career-long database: Carlos Matos Ferreira (†), Eduardo Alves, Jorge Loureiro, José Tito Mendonça, Luís Lemos Alves, Luís Oliveira e Silva, Mikhail Benilov and Vasco Guerra.

Congratulations to all! 👏

07/10/2026

Huge congratulations to our PhD student Farzaneh Ostovarpour, who received the Best PhD Poster Award at the 2nd edition of the IST-PhysFront Physics Frontier Symposium for her poster titled "Surface kinetic modeling of ozone-assisted methane oxidation over Coβ catalyst: validation against experimental data under humid conditions." 👏

Supervised by Vasco Guerra and Pedro Viegas (N-PRiME/IPFN), Farzaneh’s work combines physics, chemistry, and modelling.

"Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, but its molecules are very stable and therefore difficult to remove, especially at low temperatures", says Farzaneh.

This research investigates how ozone and catalysts can work together to make methane easier to oxidize. "Using computer simulations and comparing them with experiments, we aim to understand what happens on the catalyst surface and which reactions are most important."

In the long term, this knowledge will help the team design more effective ways of removing methane from emissions.

IPFN was also represented in the scientific sessions by Philipp Kempski (GAP/IPFN), who gave an invited lecture in the Research Highlights session, and by João Biu, a PhD student at GAP/IPFN, who presented his work in the Outstanding Student Talks session.

Organised by the Department of Physics at Instituto Superior Técnico (DF-IST), the symposium celebrates scientific excellence across all three study cycles in Physics and fosters direct engagement among students, faculty, and researchers.

📷 Image credits: Instituto Superior Técnico

06/10/2026

IPFN will coordinate two new projects exploring the potential of plasma technologies for future space exploration: ARES and PERSEUS, representing approximately €370k in combined funding.

The ARES project will explore a new way of producing oxygen from resources available on Mars. The project will combine plasma and electrochemical technologies to develop and test a system that could, in the future, help produce oxygen from Martian resources.

The PERSEUS project, carried out in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), will investigate two complementary plasma technologies through experiments and computer simulations. The goal is to better understand how these technologies work and explore their potential for future applications targeting the utilisation and processing of space resources. The project will also strengthen collaboration between IPFN and MIT through student mobility and the exchange of knowledge and expertise.

“A major focus will be involving students and early-career researchers in the design and operation of a dedicated plasma reactor, as well as in the development of optical diagnostics”, explains Tiago Silva, coordinator of both projects and researcher in N-PRiME/IPFN.

Picture: Microwave discharge ignited at approximately 5 mbar, simulating the atmospheric pressure of Mars.

🔗Read more about the projects: https://www.ipfn.tecnico.ulisboa.pt/news-and-events/news/563138931982712

01/10/2026

Congratulations, Gonçalo! 👏

30/09/2026

How can research in plasma physics and nuclear fusion contribute to a more sustainable future, tackle climate change, and promote inclusion?

The answer came to life on 25 September at Noite Europeia dos Investigadores 2026, held at Museu Nacional de História Natural e da Ciência (MUHNAC), in Lisbon. Aligned with this year’s theme "Emerging topics in science: climate change, sustainability, and inclusion", IPFN brought to the public the science behind the clean energy of the future and a commitment to making science open, accessible and inclusive for everyone.

The event welcomed around 4,100 visitors, and the institute hosted two hands-on activities: “The Journey of Lasers and Plasmas” and “Can we recreate the energy of the stars on Earth?”.

Through engaging demonstrations, including a plasma ball, light discharge tubes, Jacob’s Ladder, an interactive nuclear fusion quiz, a 3D model of the ITER reactor and virtual reality simulations of particle accelerators and astrophysical plasmas, we brought abstract concepts to life, making complex ideas tangible and accessible to the public.

"From young children who arrive too shy to speak and end up asking genuinely fascinating questions, to adults eager to stay connected with cutting-edge science, every conversation is incredibly rewarding”, said Rafael Almeida, PhD Student at Group of Lasers and Plasmas/IPFN, reflecting the enthusiasm of those on the frontline.

We extend our sincere thanks to all the researchers, volunteers, and visitors who made this evening a vibrant, engaging and inclusive celebration of science.

📷 Highlights from our participation in the gallery below.

Read more about IPFN at the European Researchers’ Night 2026: https://www.ipfn.tecnico.ulisboa.pt/news-and-events/news/563138931982713

22/09/2026

A Noite Europeia dos Investigadores (NEI) está a chegar e o IPFN vai estar no Museu Nacional de História Natural e da Ciência.🔬⚡️

Um evento anual europeu para celebrar e explorar a ciência. Este ano, o nosso espaço junta dois grandes temas:

|| Podemos recriar a energia das estrelas na Terra?;
|| A viagem dos lasers e plasmas;

Na próxima sexta-feira, juntamo-nos à NEI com demonstrações práticas do trabalho desenvolvido no nosso instituto.

25 de setembro | 17h00 – 24h00

📍MUHNAC (Rua da Escola Politécnica 56, Lisboa)

➡️ Sala: Piso 1, Exposição de Física (Atividade N°54)

🎟️ Entrada livre

🔗 Mais informações em Noite Europeia dos Investigadores

21/09/2026

Relativistic Plasmas: Acceleration and Radiation gives a consistent description of relativistic plasmas and focuses on recent advances in plasma accelerators, radiation sources and intense laser-plasma interactions. The book is a useful reference on plasma physics for postgraduate students and resea...

17/09/2026

🎓 Congratulations to Gonçalo Figueira on his Habilitation in Physics at Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa!

Gonçalo presented the lesson "Spatiotemporal Couplings in Ultrafast Optics" — a field at the cutting edge of laser science, with far-reaching implications for high-power laser systems and ultrafast photonics.

The jury brought together an outstanding panel of international experts:
🔹 José Santos Victor (Técnico ULisboa) — President
🔹 Günter Steinmeyer (MBI Berlin, Germany)
🔹 Vincent Bagnoud (GSI Darmstadt, Germany)
🔹 Katalin Varjú (ELI ALPS, Hungary)
🔹 Luís Arnaut (Universidade de Coimbra)
🔹 Frederico Fiúza (Técnico ULisboa)

A well-deserved milestone — Congratulations, Gonçalo! 👏

IPFN - Instituto de Plasmas e Fusão Nuclear

17/09/2026

É professor de Ciências e Física no ensino secundário e procura aprofundar os seus conhecimentos sobre fusão nuclear e conhecer novas abordagens e recursos para a integração deste tema no ensino?

O 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗙𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗗𝗮𝘆, organizado pela FuseNet, tem como objetivo dar a conhecer a fusão nuclear aos professores do ensino secundário, promover a discussão sobre o ensino desta área aos alunos e despertar o interesse pela fusão nuclear no contexto do ensino secundário. A 7.ª edição realiza-se no dia 𝟮 𝗱𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗯𝗿𝗼 𝗱𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲, em formato totalmente online, reunindo professores de toda a Europa.

O programa inclui uma sessão nacional, com a participação de Bruno Gonçalves, Presidente do IPFN, que irá abordar os desafios e progressos da fusão nuclear.

A sessão internacional contará com a apresentação de novos materiais educativos gratuitos e respetivas traduções, intervenções de investigadores de referência da comunidade internacional de fusão nuclear e visitas virtuais a instalações de investigação, incluindo o DIFFER e o ITER. A sessão permitirá ainda conhecer melhor a investigação desenvolvida no âmbito de uma das maiores colaborações científicas do mundo e as oportunidades de visitas de professores ao ITER promovidas pela DG ENER.

O evento decorrerá entre as 𝟭𝟰𝗵𝟬𝟬 𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝟭𝟳𝗵𝟬𝟬 (𝗖𝗘𝗦𝗧).

Inscrições e mais informações: https://indico.fusenet.eu/event/65/overview

31/07/2026

To conclude the academic year, we celebrate the 13th edition of , IPFN’s summer school dedicated to plasma physics, intense lasers and nuclear fusion. 🙌

Two weeks ago, Lisbon became home to 44 students from 21 nationalities for a week of learning, discovery and exchange, combining lectures on frontier research topics with outdoor activities such as climbing, mountainboarding, kayaking and surfing.🏄‍♀️ 🌊

The week concluded with a visit to IPFN's laboratories, including ISTTOK tokamak, Plasma Engineering Laboratory (PEL) and the Cold Atom facility (MOTLab).

Thank you to all the students who took part in this edition and to everyone who contributed to making PlasmaSurf 2026 such a successful and inspiring experience. ✨

📸 Take a look at some of the highlights from the week.

🔗 Read the full story, including testimonials from the students: https://www.ipfn.tecnico.ulisboa.pt/news-and-events/news/281663955271805

Endereço

Avenida Rovisco Pais, N. 1
Lisbon
1049-001

Telefone

(+351) 218 417696

Website

http://www.ipfn.tecnico.ulisboa.pt/

Notificações

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