Dr. Mordecai “Mordy” Rosen, an acclaimed Plasma Physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, was interviewed Pulitzer Prize winning author and journalist, David Freed shortly after the achievement of fusion ignition at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)—a major scientific breakthrough decades in the making that will pave the way for advancements in national defense and the future of clean power.

On December 5, a team at LLNL’s National Ignition Facility (NIF) conducted the first controlled fusion experiment in history to reach this milestone, also known as scientific energy breakeven, meaning it produced more energy from fusion than the laser energy used to drive it. This historic, first-of-its kind achievement will provide unprecedented capability to support NNSA’s Stockpile Stewardship Program and will provide invaluable insights into the prospects of clean fusion energy.

​

Dr. Rosen has worked at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory since 1976 . He studies fusion

reactions created at the National Ignition Facility, the world’s largest laser. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS), winner of the Teller Medal of the American Nuclear Society for his role in creating a new field: High Energy Density Physics, and winner of the APS Excellence in Plasma Physics Award for designing the world's first laboratory x-ray laser. Dr. Rosen has a B.Sc. in physics/math from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a PhD in Plasma Physics from Princeton University.​