Duccio Testa

Duccio Testa is a Researcher at the Swiss Plasma Center (SPC) within the School of Basic Sciences at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). He holds concurrent Lecturer positions in the School of Engineering (SB-SPH) and the School of Humanities and Social Sciences (CDH-SHS). His career spans plasma physics for nuclear fusion, mathematical modeling of complex systems, and archaeology of the Roman and pre-Roman eras.

• Education: High School Diploma from Liceo Classico Vincenzo Gioberti (1988); Bachelor/Master in Physics from Universita di Torino (1994); Ph.D. in Plasma Physics from Imperial College London (1998); Post-Doc at MIT (2002-2007).

His research focuses on plasma diagnostics and magnetic sensor development for tokamaks like JET, TCV, and ITER. He pioneered LTCC sensors and real-time MHD instability detection algorithms (e.g., SparSpec). His work bridges fusion engineering and archaeology, with publications on Etruscan civilization and Pharaonic trade routes.

Recent articles highlight advancements in photolithography-based magnetic sensors for DTT and DEMO, high-frequency diagnostics across tokamaks, and fast ion transport modeling. He has received European Community Research Training Grant, Ph.D. Fellowship, and Post-Doc Fellowship.

Scientific Awards
• European Community Research Training Grant (1995)
• Ph.D. Fellowship (Imperial College London, 1995-1998)
• Post-Doc Fellowship (MIT, 1998-2007)

Testa has mentored numerous Ph.D. students (e.g., Theodoros Panis, Christian Schlatter) and post-doctoral researchers, while contributing to MOOC courses and tutorials on plasma physics. His leadership in international collaborations (EPFL, MIT, UKAEA) underscores his role in fusion technology and diagnostic systems.