Matthew Hole

Matthew Hole is an ANU Senior Fellow at the Mathematical Sciences Institute (MSI), affiliated with the School of Computing and ANSTO. He holds a PhD in Physics from the University of Sydney and has expertise in plasma physics, fusion energy, and computational modeling. His research focuses on toroidal confinement fusion, magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), and mathematical modeling of plasma equilibria and stability. He leads the Plasma Theory and Modelling Group at ANU and co-founded the Australian ITER Forum, contributing to Australia’s involvement in the ITER project. He has attracted ~$3.3M in funding and supervised nearly 50 students. His awards include the IUPAP Young Scientist of the Year (2010) and ITER Science Fellow (2017).

Education: PhD in Physics (University of Sydney, 2002), Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical, 1st Class Honours, 1997), Bachelor of Science (Physics and Pure Mathematics, 1995). Research interests include plasma centrifuge physics, stochastic systems, Bayesian inference, and magnetic diagnostics. He serves on the IAEA’s International Fusion Research Council and editorial boards of journals like Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion.

Research trends in his articles emphasize computational methods (e.g., persistent homology, physics-informed neural networks) and experimental collaborations (e.g., ISTTOK tokamak). His work addresses critical plasma physics challenges, including runaway electrons, MHD instabilities, and equilibrium modeling. Grants and projects focus on fusion energy, plasma dynamics, and interdisciplinary approaches like topological data analysis.

Labs/Teams: Lead of the Plasma Theory and Modelling Group at ANU; collaborates with international institutions like the ITER Organization, KSTAR, and the H-1 heliac team. His work spans academic, industrial, and governmental partnerships.