The Vanderbilt Fusion Project

By building a functional nuclear fusion reactor, we hope to spark innovation and inspire others - both within our campus community and nationally. The Vanderbilt Fusion Project will bring together students from across the disciplines in the School of Engineering - Mechanical, Civil and Environmental, Biomedical, Electrical, Chemical, Computer Science, and General Engineering - as well as students outside of engineering in Peabody and Arts and Science. Our team will help create new connections throughout our engineering and campus communities, and catalyze real-world problem solving and innovation. The Vanderbilt Fusion Project will provide groundbreaking new opportunities for Vanderbilt students. Through our project teams, students will be able to gain hands-on experience with flowing gas systems, ultra-high vacuum systems, high voltage engineering, and control systems, and experiment with new particle and plasma technologies. Additionally, due to the interdisciplinary nature of a fusion reactor, students will be immersed in materials science, chemistry, and physics, and gain experience working on a project with team members from across different backgrounds, skills, and disciplines. The primary goal of our project isn't just to design, fabricate, and develop a fusion reactor; it's to create a project team that will give our team members the background and skills to become top-notch engineers, innovators, and problem-solvers.