From October 2024 to April 2025, I had the great opportunity and pleasure of performing 
my master’s thesis internship at the Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC) at MIT in 
Boston, USA. This thesis, financially supported by FuseNet, concludes the master’s 
program in plasma physics I have been following at École Polytechnique Fédérale de 
Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland.  

This thesis focused on studying a novel design for a tokamak divertor, a so-called tightly 
baffled, long-legged divertor, which has the potential to better manage the intense heat 
loads future reactors will have to deal with. The divertor is a region of the tokamak in 
which heat and particles from the core plasma are diverted towards the walls. This study 
was performed using the SOLPS-ITER software, an edge plasma simulation code which 
models a large area of the tokamak plasma, from the outer core to the plasma-wall 
interaction region.  

I could never have imagined the amount of knowledge I have acquired during this 
internship at PSFC MIT. Weekly seminars addressed a broad range of subjects related to 
plasma physics, such as modeling instabilities and turbulence, fusion materials for 
future reactors, or machine learning applications for fusion. Being in close contact with 
experts in the field, having the opportunity to discuss with them weekly, made my 
understanding of edge plasma physics deeper and more complete.  

During my stay I had the pleasure of following hands-on activities such as ceramics, 
painting, and ice-cream making sessions, tasting food from many different origins, having
weekly free drinks and pizzas at the Muddy, the on-campus bar, and even going on a ski 
trip, all of it organized by many MIT student associations. Moreover, MIT has an 
association for visiting students such as me, the Visiting Student Association (VISTA), that 
organizes weekly social events, in which I have met most of the friends I have had 
throughout this internship. It is a great opportunity to meet fellow graduate students from 
all around the world. 

My master’s thesis internship at MIT PSFC, supported by the FuseNet funding scheme,
was an incredibly enriching experience, both academically and personally. This 
experience has broadened my horizons and strengthened my passion for fusion 
research, leaving me with invaluable knowledge, lasting connections, and making me 
ever more eager to begin a PhD in plasma physics for fusion.