Leading Expert in Plasma Physics and Fusion Research
Associated with :
École Polytechnique Fédérale de LausannePaolo Ricci is the newly appointed Director of the Swiss Plasma Center (SPC) and Full Professor at École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). After earning his master's in Nuclear Engineering from Politecnico di Torino, he completed his doctorate at Los Alamos National Laboratory, focusing on kinetic simulation of magnetic reconnection. Following postdoctoral research at Dartmouth College on gyrokinetic simulations, he joined EPFL's Swiss Plasma Center in 2006 as a EURATOM fellow, progressing to Full Professor in October 2023. His research focuses on numerical simulation of laboratory plasmas, plasma turbulence, and fusion physics. A distinguished educator, Ricci has received multiple teaching awards, including the 2016 Section de Physique Teaching Prize and the 2021 Craie d'Or award. He teaches General Physics II at the Bachelor's level and Plasma Physics II at the Master's level, known for his innovative teaching methods that combine traditional lectures with multimedia approaches and practical demonstrations. He also co-developed the world's first MOOC on plasma physics and teaches the PhD course on Magnetic Confinement