Rate My Professor Joe Khachan

Joe Khachan serves as Associate Professor in the School of Physics, Faculty of Science, at the University of Sydney, where he leads the Fusion Group. He holds a PhD in Physics from the University of New South Wales. His research specialization is plasma physics, with a primary focus on inertial electrostatic confinement (IEC) fusion devices. This encompasses gridded IEC systems, hollow cathodes, Periodically Oscillating Plasma Spheres (POPS), and Polywell configurations. The Fusion Group's investigations involve bench-top scale fusion physics, utilizing optical diagnostics including emission spectroscopy and laser-induced fluorescence, as well as plasma theory and modeling. Applications of this research include spacecraft electric propulsion systems and compact neutron sources.

Throughout his academic career at the University of Sydney, Khachan has advanced understanding in plasma diagnostics, ion motion, and confinement. Key publications include "Measurements of ion energy distributions by Doppler shift spectroscopy in an inertial-electrostatic confinement device" (Physics of Plasmas, 2001), "Spatial distribution of ion energies in an inertial electrostatic confinement device" (Physics of Plasmas, 2003), "Diverging ion motion in an inertial electrostatic confinement discharge" (Physics of Plasmas, 2006), "Low beta confinement in a Polywell modelled with conventional point cusp theories" (Physics of Plasmas, 2011), "Evidence for surface fusion in inertial electrostatic confinement devices" (Physics of Plasmas, 2018), "Measurements and modeling of ion divergence from a gridded inertial electrostatic confinement device using laser induced fluorescence" (2020), and "An inertial electrostatic confinement fusion system based on graphite" (Physics of Plasmas, 2021). His body of work has received 1,276 citations, achieving an h-index of 20. Khachan also contributes to physics education research and delivers lectures on plasma physics.