Sophia Henneberg (IPP)

Sophia Henneberg has been a research associate at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics since 2016 and completed her doctorate at the University of York in the UK. She has previously taught at the University of Greifswald. In fall 2025, she will take up a position as assistant professor at MIT. She is a leading expert in the field of magnetohydrodynamics and stellarator design. Her research focuses on the physical fundamentals of fusion power plants, a promising technology for a sustainable energy future.

Interview:

What are you currently working on?

Sophia Henneberg: Fusion has the potential to provide a clean, virtually limitless, and safe source of energy. This fusion energy requires sufficiently high densities and temperatures. One way to generate these is to create a magnetic cage that confines charged particles effectively. The design of this magnetic cage, including the magnetic coils that generate the fields, requires optimization. This is comparable to optimizing a car or airplane to move forward as efficiently as possible.

The two main concepts of fusion using magnetic confinement are tokamaks and stellarators. Tokamaks are shaped like a torus and are axially symmetric (like a doughnut), while stellarators are also torus-shaped but not axially symmetric (like twisted doughnuts). Both concepts have different advantages and disadvantages compared to each other. Recently, we have discovered a new stellarator-tokamak hybrid that could combine the advantages of both concepts in an improved fusion design. My research focuses on investigating this new concept from a physical and engineering perspective, as well as developing, using, and expanding optimization tools to discover new, advantageous stellarator designs.

You can find more information about my work on my website.

What is your personal motivation?

Sophia Henneberg: There are several factors that motivate me personally. On the one hand, it is of course important that my work could contribute significantly to the well-being of society. But I also simply enjoy almost all aspects of my work. I enjoy the scientific challenges, the discovery of new insights, and the learning process itself. Working with students, doctoral researchers, postdocs, and other scientists worldwide is very fulfilling. I also appreciate teaching and giving lectures, as these bring many benefits, such as gaining new ideas and the opportunity to travel the world. In summary, I can say that my work motivates me deeply and fulfills me every day.

What kind of challenges are ou facing in the near future?

Sophia Henneberg: In addition to supervising my students, giving lectures, leading an international collaboration, and conducting my own research, efficient time and resource management is a top priority. In the next six months, I will probably design and deliver a new lecture. Although I have already accomplished this task several times, I expect it to take a considerable amount of time. In addition, I will be applying for various grants, for example to expand my own research group, but also to extend existing grants.

If you could make a wish for something for your research, what would you wish for?

Sophia Henneberg: For my future research, I would like to see my group and I continue to come up with lots of good and useful ideas, to continue working with so many talented people, and to be able to secure third-party funding for my group's work.

Specifically in relation to my work, I would hope that one of the many promising stellarator or hybrid designs can be realized in the way we currently envision it. This would really advance fusion research and make this energy source more tangible.

Where do you see your discipline in 5-10 years?

Sophia Henneberg: In recent years, the fusion landscape has changed significantly due to a rapidly growing number of fusion startups. This has already influenced research, as topics such as commercialization have become more important. Several new fusion experiments are planned within the next 10 years. If these deliver on their promises, the fusion industry will continue to grow. This also means that there will likely be a growing demand for trained professionals in this field. I also think that research will continue to develop in order to further improve current concepts, similar to what is happening with other energy sources.

ORCID: 0000-0002-1949-7032