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With support from FuseNet I was able to spend 10 weeks in Prague working on a spectrometer setup at COMPASS. This passive diagnostic, which was not in use before I arrived, could be used to measure poloidal rotation and ion temperatures close to the plasma edge. To verify this, the system had to be properly calibrated. This included spatial calibration, which meant it had to verified where exactly in the plasma it was measuring and spectral calibration of the spectrometer. This proved to be harder than expected and required many iterations to finally get correct. After the calibration, multiple measurements were performed both in L- and H-mode plasmas. Even though currently a precise determination of ion temperatures and poloidal velocities is not possible, it is possible to estimate the separatrix location, and clearly distinguish between L- and H-mode. After leaving Prague, continued work will be done on this diagnostic as it seems to a promising diagnostic.

The city of Prague is truly beautiful and even though I did not spend as much time exploring it as I could have it was still very impressive. While the old city center was the highlight, the rest of the city was just as beautiful. I also did a day trip to the nearby Gothic castle Karlštejn and small quarry which I can highly recommend to those who are fan of a bit of history and hike.

- Jesper Cuperus