Summary of Research
My research focuses on studying High Energy Density Physics (HEDP), especially with applications to Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE). I spent two years at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory using X-ray Talbot interferometry and backlighting to characterize the microstructure and shock dynamics of dry and deuterium-wetted IFE-relevant foams that have been proposed as a step towards mass production of IFE, while also studying laser-driven ion acceleration from high-repetition-rate cryogenic liquid jet targets, primarily jets of hydrogen and argon.
After starting my Ph.D. program at Princeton University, I hope to perform research in plasma physics and HEDP, with a focus on advancing IFE science.
Publications
PUBLICATIONS:
1.) T. Kluge, A. Hirsch-Passicos, J. Schulz, M. Frost, E. Galtier, M. Gauthier, J. Grenzer, C. Gutt, L. Huang, U. Hubner, M. Ikeya, H. J. Lee, D. Khaghani, W. M. Martin, B. E. Marre, M. Nakatsutsumi, P. Ordyna, F.-L. Paschke-Bruehl, A. Pelka, L. Randolph, H.-P. Schlenvoigt, C. Schoenwaelder, M. Smid, T. Toncian, U. Schramm, T. E. Cowan, "Microscopy X-ray Imaging enriched with Small Angle X-ray Scattering for few nanometer resolution reveals shock waves and compression in intense short pulse laser irradiation of solids", Frontiers in Physics 14, 2296-424X (Apr 2026).
2.) B. Ofori-Okai, A. Descamps, E. R. Toro, M. Ikeya, S. B. Hansen, M. Mo, A. D. Baczewski, D. Brown, L. B. Fletcher, E. E. McBride, X. Shen, A. Weinmann, J. Yang, J. Schein, Z. Chen, X. Wang, S. Glenzer, "Unveiling Structural Effects on the DC Conductivity of Warm Dense Matter via Terahertz Spectroscopy and Ultrafast Electron Diffraction", Nature Communications 16, 10541 (Nov 2025).
3.) L. Hancock, K. Mertes, A. Carr, X. Xia, C. Sweeney, M. Ikeya, Y. Chen, V. Esposito, D. Hodge, O. Hoidn, W. Martin, M. Mettry-Yassa, C. Parisuana, T. Sato, Y. Sechrest, M. Seaberg, S. Song, A. Vong, A. White, R. Sandberg, A. Gleason, "Determining the nanostructure of polymer foams using 3D ptycho-tomography for inertial fusion energy applications", Physics of Plasmas 32, 10 (Oct 2025).
4.) C. Parisuana, M. P. Valdivia, V. Bouffetier, K. Kurzer-Ogul, G. Perez-Callejo, S. Bott-Suzuki, A. Casner, N. S. Christiansen, N. Czapla, D. Eder, E. Galtier, S. H. Glenzer, T. Goudal, B. M. Haines, D. Hodge, M. Ikeya, L. Izquierdo, D. Khaghani, Y. Kim, S. Klein, A. Koniges, H. J. Lee, M. Leininger, A. F. T. Leong, R. S. Lester, M. Makita, D. Mancelli, W. M. Martin, B. Nagler, R. L. Sandberg, A. Truong, M. Vescovi, A. E. Gleason, P. M. Kozlowski, "Shock propagation in aerogel and TPP foams for inertial fusion energy target design", Physics of Plasmas 32, 8 (Aug 2025).
5.) E. R. Toro, T. Held, A. Bergermann, M. Ikeya, M. Maigler, E. R. Sung, D. O. Gericke, M. Mo, B. Rethfeld, S. H. Glenzer, B. K. Ofori-Okai, "Electronic Signature of Melting Onset in Polycrystalline Copper at Extreme Conditions", submitted on arXiv in preparation for submission (Apr 2026).
Posters:
1.) X-ray imaging of laser-driven shock compression in deuterium-wetted IFE foams
a. IFE-STAR Conference, Washington, D.C. (Mar 2026)
2.) Laser-Driven Ion Acceleration from Cryogenic Liquid Argon Jets Using a PW Laser
a. APS Division of Plasma Physics, Long Beach, CA (Nov 2025)
b. NIF & JLF User Groups Meeting, Livermore, CA (Feb 2026)
3.) Investigating Shock Fronts and Interface Effects in IFE Foams
a. SSRL/LCLS Meeting, Menlo Park, CA (Sep 2025)
b. HEDS Summer School, San Diego, CA (Jul 2025)
c. LaserNetUS Meeting, Phoenix, AZ (Jul 2025)
4.) Determining the Electrical Conductivity of Warm Dense Nickel Using Single-Shot Terahertz Spectroscopy
a. NIF and JLF Meeting, Livermore, CA (Feb 2025)
b. APS Division of Plasma Physics Meeting, Atlanta, GA (Oct 2024)
c. SSRL/LCLS Meeting, Menlo Park, CA (Sep 2024)
d. LaserNetUS Meeting, Austin, TX (Jul 2024)
e. International Conference on High Energy Density Laboratory Astrophysics, Tallahassee, FL (May 2024)
5.) Simultaneous Determination of Electrical and Structural Properties of Hot Silicates Using THz Spectroscopy and XRD
a. Ultrafast X-ray Summer School, Menlo Park, CA (Jun 2024)
Awards
1.) NSF GRFP Honorable Mention (Apr 2026)
2.) Best Graduate Student Poster Award, High Energy Density Science Summer School (Jul 2025)
3.) Poster Prize Winner, 2024 LaserNetUS Meeting (Jul 2024)
4.) Academic Excellence Award, UC Santa Barbara (Jun 2023)
5.) Department of Physics Academic Honors, UC Santa Barbara (Jun 2023)
6.) College of Letters and Science Honors Program, UC Santa Barbara (Aug 2019 - Jun 2023)
7.) UC Regents Scholarship Award, Regents of the University of California (Aug 2019 - Jun 2023)