Summary of Research
High-intensity lasers provide a unique platform to probe materials at elevated temperatures (>10^8 K) and pressures (>1 Mbar). Access to this exotic high-energy-density (HED) regime enables laboratory experiments that (1) ensure the reliability of our nation's nuclear deterrent through the Stockpile Stewardship Program, (2) replicate the most extreme astrophysical objects in the universe, and (3) advance inertial fusion energy as a potential power source. My graduate research focuses on fundamental science that is relevant to all three of these areas. Specifically, I study how magnetic fields are self-generated in HED plasmas and how the evolution of those fields influences the ambient plasma conditions.
Publications
Publications:
B. McCluskey, J. Griff-McMahon, D. Haberberger, V. Valenzuela-Villaseca, H. Landsberger, W. Fox, "Reconstruction of 2D line-integrated electron density using angular filter refractometry and a fast marching Eikonal solver," Review of Scientific Instruments, 96 (12): 123502 (2025).
J. Griff-McMahon, C. A. Walsh, V. Valenzuela-Villaseca, S. Malko, B. McCluskey, K. Lezhnin, H. Landsberger, L. Berzak Hopkins, G. Fiksel, M. J. Rosenberg, D. B. Schaeffer, W. Fox, "Structure of self-generated magnetic fields in laser-solid interaction from proton tomography," submitted to Physical Review Letters (2025).
Presentations/posters:
B. McCluskey, J. Griff-McMahon, D. Haberberger, V. Valenzuela-Villaseca, H. Landsberger, W. Fox, "Measurement of density and temperature evolution in self-magnetized high-energy-density plasmas," NIF and JLF User Group Meeting, Livermore, CA, February 2026. (conference poster, speaker)
B. McCluskey, J. Griff-McMahon, D. Haberberger, V. Valenzuela-Villaseca, H. Landsberger, W. Fox, "Reconstruction of 2D line-integrated electron density using angular filter refractometry and a fast marching Eikonal solver," APS Division of Plasma Physics, Long Beach, CA, November 2025. (conference contributed presentation, speaker)
B. McCluskey, A. Do, B. Kozioziemski, "Simulation of Refraction Enhanced Radiography (RER) of Hydrodynamic Instabilities," APS Division of Plasma Physics, Denver, CO, October 2023. (conference poster, speaker)
M. Guasch, B. McCluskey, M. Schatz, "Observations of Instability in Spatially Periodic Channels with Different Aspect Ratios,"Direct Air Capture Center Symposium, Atlanta, GA, October 2023. (conference poster, speaker)
B. McCluskey, A. Do, E. Dewald, O. Landen, C. Weber, “Direct measurement of density using Abel transform of Refracted Enhanced Radiograph (RER) in ICF capsule implosion at the National Ignition Facility," APS Division of Plasma Physics, Spokane, WA, October 2022. (conference poster, speaker)
Awards
1. Carl Obermann Award, Princeton University, 2024
2. College of Science Dean's Scholarship, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2020-2024
3. President's Undergraduate Research Award, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2023
4. Outstanding Poster Award, American Physical Society Division of Plasma Physics Conference (Denver, CO), 2023
5. National Fluid Power Association Scholarship, 2023
6. President's Undergraduate Research Award, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2022
7. Outstanding Poster Award, American Physical Society Division of Plasma Physics Conference (Spokane, WA), 2022
8. Undergraduate Poster Award (2nd Place), National Ignition Facility and Photon Science Summer Poster Symposium, 2022
9. Freshman Scholarship, American Nuclear Society, 2020
10. National Merit Scholarship, 2020