Ethan Peterson

Ethan Peterson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he leads the neutronics group at the Plasma Science and Fusion Center. His research focuses on radiation transport and transmutation methods, reactor design optimization, and uncertainty quantification for fusion technologies.

• PhD in Experimental Plasma Physics, University of Wisconsin–Madison

Research interests center on developing predictive nuclear modeling for fusion reactor design, emphasizing high-fidelity Monte Carlo simulations using OpenMC. His work addresses unique challenges in fusion neutronics including complex geometries, tritium breeding, and materials testing, with applications to projects like SPARC, LIBRA, and ARC tokamaks.

Recent publications demonstrate expertise in neutron shielding design, computational validation, and multi-physics simulations for fusion systems. He teaches courses in neutron physics, Monte Carlo methods, and plasma physics seminars.