Toby Adkins is an Associate Research Scientist in the Theory Department at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), where he holds a Strategic Science Initiative Fellowship. He completed both his undergraduate and graduate studies at the University of Oxford, earning a Masters in Mathematical and Theoretical Physics in 2018 and a DPhil in Theoretical Physics in 2023. Toby was awarded the European Physical Society Plasma Physics Division PhD Research Award (2024) for his thesis on "Electromagnetic instabilities and plasma turbulence driven by the electron temperature gradient". Supervised by Prof. Alexander A. Schekochihin (University of Oxford) and Dr. Colin M. Roach (Culham Centre for Fusion Energy), this research combined analytical and numerical methods to explore the fundamental mechanisms of electromagnetic destabilization in magnetic-confinement fusion devices, with a focus on high-beta, reactor-relevant tokamak scenarios. In addition to fusion plasmas, Toby has also conducted research into astrophysical plasma turbulence, collaborating with Dr. Jonathan Squire (University of Otago) on the dynamics of helicity-barrier-mediated turbulence in the solar wind.
At PPPL, Toby is working alongside Prof. Greg Hammett and Prof. Felix Parra-Diaz towards a more comprehensive understanding of electromagnetic transport in spherical tokamaks, with particular focus on low-recycling regimes. His current efforts are focussing on predicting lithiated spherical tokamak equilibrium profiles using local gyrokinetic simulations integrated with an equilibrium transport solver, and investigating the physics underlying the profile evolution.
P.O. Box 451
Princeton, NJ 08543-0451 U.S.A
Tel: (609) 243-2000
