Summary of Research
My research involves studies of low-mode implosion asymmetries in inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments at the OMEGA Laser Facility and the National Ignition Facility (NIF). Although ignition and energy gain have been achieved in implosions at the NIF, further mitigation of the implosion asymmetries and resulting residual kinetic energy (RKE) at peak compression are essential to further improve fusion yields toward the regime of several 10s of megajoules. These asymmetries and RKE, caused by several factors including laser-drive asymmetries and capsule imperfections, directly prevent effective compression and heating, leading to significant, often exponential, degradation of the implosion performance. To better understand how to mitigate these degradation mechanisms, I am conducting experimental and computational studies of low-mode asymmetries, RKE, and their correlations in ICF implosions.
Publications
First-Author Publications:
[1] B. I. Buschmann, M. Cufari, N. Vanderloo, J. Vargas, B. C. Foo, A. DeVault, S. G. Dannhoff, T. E. Evans, T. M. Johnson, J. H. Kunimune, Y. Lawrence, J. A. Pearcy, B. L. Reichelt, C. W. Wink, L. Russell, M. Gatu Johnson, R. D. Petrasso, and J. A. Frenje, "Characterization of the response of radiochromic film to quasi-monoenergetic x rays through a cross-calibration with image plates," Review of Scientific Instruments 95, 093531 (2024).
Co-Author Publications:
[8] V. Hagenlocker, R. A. Tinguely, X. Wang, J. L. Ball, B. Buschmann, M. Gatu Johnson, R. Gocht, and P. Raj, "Characterization of a prototype parallel-plate 238U fission chamber with DD and DT fusion neutron sources," Fusion Engineering and Design 232, 115988 (2026).
[7] M. Macon, B. I. Buschmann, M. Cufari, S. G. Dannhoff, A. DeVault, T. E. Evans, B. C. Foo, T. M. Johnson, J. H. Kunimune, Y. Lawrence, J. A. Pearcy, B. L. Reichelt, L. Russell, N. Vanderloo, J. Vargas, C. W. Wink, M. Gatu Johnson, and J. A. Frenje, "Design of an in-vacuum manipulator for nuclear diagnostics development at the MIT linear electrostatic ion accelerator," Review of Scientific Instruments 96, 083508 (2025).
[6] R. Kishimori, M. Cufari, E. Z. L. Zhong-Johnson, B. I. Buschmann, A. J. Sinskey, T. M. Johnson, N. Vanderloo, A. DeVault, B. C. Foo, J. Vargas, S. G. Dannhoff, T. E. Evans, J. Kunimune, Y. Lawrence, J. A. Pearcy, B. L. Reichelt, C. W. Wink, R. D. Petrasso, M. Gatu Johnson, and J. A. Frenje, "Impact of x rays on the sensitivity of CR-39 detectors to 2.4-MeV protons," Review of Scientific Instruments 96, 073506 (2025).
[5] B. C. Foo, B. I. Buschmann, M. Cufari, S. G. Dannhoff, A. DeVault, T. E. Evans, T. M. Johnson, J. H. Kunimune, Y. Lawrence, J. A. Pearcy, B. L. Reichelt, L. Russell, N. Vanderloo, J. Vargas, C. W. Wink, M. Gatu Johnson, F. H. Seguin, R. D. Petrasso, and J. A. Frenje, "Errors in the field reconstruction using CR-39 proton radiographs with high fluence variation," Review of Scientific Instruments 95, 103527 (2024).
[4] L. Russell, T. M. Johnson, Y. Lawrence, B. Reichelt, N. Vanderloo, M. Cufari, B. I. Buschmann, S. Dannhoff, A. DeVault, E. Doeg, T. Evans, B. C. Foo, R. Frankel, J. H. Kunimune, J. A. Pearcy, J. Vargas, M. Gatu Johnson, and J. Frenje, "Quantifying the effects of neutron fluence on proton signal retention in CR-39," Review of Scientific Instruments 95, 103505 (2024).
[3] N. Vanderloo, M. Cufari, L. Russell, T. M. Johnson, J. Vargas, B. C. Foo, B. I. Buschmann, S. G. Dannhoff, A. DeVault, T. E. Evans, J. H. Kunimune, Y. Lawrence, J. A. Pearcy, B. L. Reichelt, C. W. Wink, M. Gatu Johnson, R. D. Petrasso, J. A. Frenje, and C. K. Li, "Image plate multi-scan response to fusion protons in the range of 1-14 MeV," Review of Scientific Instruments 95, 093536 (2024).
[2] M. Cufari, N. Vanderloo, B. I. Buschmann, A. DeVault, B. C. Foo, J. Vargas, S. G. Dannhoff, T. E. Evans, T. M. Johnson, J. Kunimune, Y. Lawrence, J. A. Pearcy, B. L. Reichelt, L. Russell, C. W. Wink, M. Gatu Johnson, R. D. Petrasso, and J. A. Frenje, "Characterization of the image plate multi-scan response to mono-energetic x-rays," Review of Scientific Instruments 95, 093535 (2024).
[1] T. M. Johnson, J. Shan, R. Kishimori, M. J. Cufari, P. J. Adrian, B. Buschmann, C. W. Chang, S. G. Dannhoff, A. DeVault, T. E. Evans, B. Foo, J. H. Kunimune, Y. Lawrence, J. A. Pearcy, B. L. Reichelt, L. Russell, G. D. Sutcliffe, N. L. Vanderloo, J. Vargas, C. Wink, M. Gatu Johnson, F. H. Seguin, R. D. Petrasso, J. A. Frenje, and C. K. Li, "Intrinsic fluence non-uniformity in D3He backlit proton radiography," Review of Scientific Instruments 95, 093520 (2024).
Oral Presentations:
[2] Brandan Buschmann, Skylar Dannhoff, Rui Vieira, Rick Leccacorvi, Chris Wink, Shon Mackie, Johan Frenje, Hannah McClow, and Georg Berg, "A compact Gamma-RAy SPectrometer (GRASP) for inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments at OMEGA," MIT Nuclear Science and Engineering Graduate Student Seminar, Cambridge, MA, USA (November 2025).
[1] B. I. Buschmann, D. B. Schaeffer, B. C. Foo, and P. V. Heuer, "Measuring Plasma Parameters from Thomson-Scattered Spectra of Non-Maxwellian Velocity Distributions in Magnetized Collisionless Shocks," Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory Summer Intern Presentation Session, Princeton, NJ, USA (August 2022).
Poster Presentations:
[16] B. I. Buschmann, D. T. Casey, T. M. Johnson, M. Gatu Johnson, and J. A. Frenje, "Studies of residual kinetic energy (RKE) in inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments with imposed mode-2 asymmetries at the OMEGA laser," Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory National Ignition Facility & Photon Science Summer Scholar Poster Symposium, Livermore, CA, USA (July 2026).
[15] B. I. Buschmann, S. G. Dannhoff, H. McClow, R. F. Vieira, R. Leccacorvi, C. W. Wink, S. P. Mackie, G. P. A. Berg, and J. A. Frenje, "Development of a compact and portable Gamma-RAy SPectrometer (GRASP) for inertial confinement fusion and basic science experiments at OMEGA and high-intensity laser facilities," 26th Topical Conference on High Temperature Plasma Diagnostics, Cambridge, MA, USA (June 2026).
[14] B. I. Buschmann, S. G. Dannhoff, H. McClow, R. F. Vieira, R. Leccacorvi, C. W. Wink, S. P. Mackie, G. P. A. Berg, and J. A. Frenje, "Development of a compact Gamma-RAy SPectrometer (GRASP) for laser fusion experiments," MIT Nuclear Science and Engineering Research Expo, Cambridge, MA, USA (May 2026).
[13] B. I. Buschmann, S. G. Dannhoff, H. McClow, R. F. Vieira, R. Leccacorvi, C. W. Wink, S. P. Mackie, G. P. A. Berg, and J. A. Frenje, "Development of a compact Gamma-RAy SPectrometer (GRASP) for inertial confinement fusion and basic science experiments at OMEGA," OMEGA Laser Users' Group Workshop, Rochester, NY, USA (April 2026).
[12] B. I. Buschmann, D. T. Casey, T. M. Johnson, M. Gatu Johnson, and J. A. Frenje (presented by D. T. Casey and M. Gatu Johnson), "Studies of residual kinetic energy (RKE) in implosions with imposed mode-1 and mode-2 asymmetries at the OMEGA laser," IFE-STAR Conference, Washington, DC, USA (March 2026).
[11] B. I. Buschmann, S. G. Dannhoff, H. McClow, R. F. Vieira, R. Leccacorvi, C. W. Wink, S. P. Mackie, G. P. A. Berg, and J. A. Frenje, "Development of a compact Gamma-RAy SPectrometer (GRASP) for inertial confinement fusion and basic science experiments at OMEGA," NIF & JLF User Groups Meeting, Livermore, CA, USA (February 2026).
[10] B. I. Buschmann, S. G. Dannhoff, H. McClow, R. F. Vieira, R. Leccacorvi, C. W. Wink, S. P. Mackie, G. P. A. Berg, and J. A. Frenje, "Development of a compact Gamma-RAy SPectrometer (GRASP) for inertial confinement fusion and basic science experiments at OMEGA," 67th Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Plasma Physics, Long Beach, CA, USA (November 2025).
[9] B. I. Buschmann, C. W. Wink, N. Schwartz, C. Esquivel, S. J. Langendorf, E. Wood, A. B. Zylstra, M. Gatu Johnson, and J. A. Frenje, "Electronic detection for the MAgnetic Recoil Spectrometer (MARS) at the Pacific Fusion experimental facility," The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Symposium on Fusion Engineering, Cambridge, MA, USA (June 2025).
[8] B. I. Buschmann, L. Ceurvorst, V. Gopalaswamy, P. V. Heuer, J. P. Knauer, A. Lees, C. W. Wink, A. T. Lanzrath, M. Gatu Johnson, and J. A. Frenje, "Diagnosing signatures of the 3He build-up in cryo-DT implosions at OMEGA," OMEGA Laser Users' Group Workshop, Rochester, NY, USA (May 2025).
[7] B. I. Buschmann, M. Cufari, R. Kishimori, S. G. Dannhoff, N. Vanderloo, J. Vargas, B. C. Foo, A. DeVault, T. E. Evans, T. M. Johnson, J. H. Kunimune, Y. Lawrence, J. A. Pearcy, B. L. Reichelt, C. W. Wink, L. Russell, M. Gatu Johnson, R. D. Petrasso, and J. A. Frenje, "Impact of high doses of quasi-monoenergetic x-rays on the response of CR-39 to protons," 66th Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Plasma Physics, Atlanta, GA, USA (October 2024).
[6] B. I. Buschmann, M. Cufari, N. Vanderloo, J. Vargas, B. C. Foo, S. G. Dannhoff, T. E. Evans, T. M. Johnson, J. Kunimune, Y. Lawrence, J. A. Pearcy, B. L. Reichelt, C. W. Wink, L. Russell, M. Gatu Johnson, R. D. Petrasso, and J. A. Frenje, "Precise Characterization of the Response of Radiochromic Film to Quasi-Monoenergetic X-Rays Through a Cross-Calibration with Image Plates," 25th Topical Conference on High Temperature Plasma Diagnostics, Asheville, NC, USA (April 2024).
[5] B. I. Buschmann, M. Cufari, N. Vanderloo, J. Vargas, B. C. Foo, S. G. Dannhoff, T. E. Evans, T. M. Johnson, J. Kunimune, Y. Lawrence, J. A. Pearcy, B. L. Reichelt, C. W. Wink, L. Russell, M. Gatu Johnson, R. D. Petrasso, and J. A. Frenje, "Precise Characterization of the Response of Radiochromic Film to Quasi-Monoenergetic X-Rays Through a Cross-Calibration with Image Plates," OMEGA Laser Users' Group Workshop, Rochester, NY, USA (April 2024).
[4] B. I. Buschmann, M. Cufari, B. Foo, N. Vanderloo, J. Vargas, M. Gatu Johnson, and R. D. Petrasso, "Cross-Calibration of X-Ray Dose on Radiochromic Film to Image Plates," MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center Research Showcase, Cambridge, MA, USA (January 2024).
[3] B. I. Buschmann, D. B. Schaeffer, B. C. Foo, and P. V. Heuer, "Measuring Ion Temperature from Thomson-Scattered Spectra of Non-Maxwellian Velocity Distributions in Magnetized Collisionless Shocks," OMEGA Laser Users' Group Workshop, Rochester, NY, USA (April 2023).
[2] B. I. Buschmann, D. B. Schaeffer, B. C. Foo, and P. V. Heuer, "Measuring Ion Temperature from Thomson-Scattered Spectra of Non-Maxwellian Velocity Distributions in Magnetized Collisionless Shocks," 64th Annual Meeting of the American Physical Society (APS) Division of Plasma Physics, Spokane, WA, USA (October 2022).
[1] B. I. Buschmann, D. B. Schaeffer, B. C. Foo, and P. V. Heuer, "Measuring Plasma Parameters from Thomson-Scattered Spectra of Non-Maxwellian Velocity Distributions in Magnetized Collisionless Shocks," Laser
Awards
2nd Place Graduate Student Poster Award, OMEGA Laser Users' Group Workshop, April 2026
Sigma Pi Sigma (physics and astronomy honors society), Inducted June 2023
Dean's Honor List, University of California, Irvine, December 2019-June 2023
Outstanding Undergraduate Poster Honorable Mention (2nd place), OMEGA Laser Users' Group Workshop, April 2023
Best Undergraduate Poster, LaserNetUS Users' Meeting, August 2022
Department of Energy Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) Participant, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, June-August 2022