Date: Friday 13th June 2025 – 11:00 (BST, UK time)
Speaker: Dr Joseph Wolfenden, senior research associate in the Quasar Group at the University of Liverpool.
Watch the interview with Dr Joseph Wolfenden here https://youtu.be/D5vNVp2GX10
Abstract
Beam diagnostics are essential for understanding and optimizing the performance particle accelerators. This is particularly true of plasma-based accelerators, where extreme gradients and ultrafast dynamics pose unique measurement challenges. This seminar will explore methods to measure key parameters which are complicated by the plasma acceleration process. It will also highlight the rapid rise of virtual diagnostics - data-driven models that infer beam properties from indirect measurements - and discuss their potential to revolutionize how the next-generation of plasma accelerator experiments will be monitored and controlled.
Biography
Dr Joseph Wolfenden is a senior research associate in the Quasar Group at the University of Liverpool. His work focuses on the development of novel beam instrumentation in frontier accelerators, with a focus on the integration of AI for advanced data analysis and virtual diagnostics. He is involved with prominent international projects such as AWAKE, where he is Deputy Team Leader for Liverpool, EuPRAXIA, where he is Deputy Work Package Leader in EUPRAXIA-DN for Facility Design and Optimisation, and PACRI where he leads the development of virtual diagnostics for plasma accelerators. He is also the director of the instrumentation development company D-Beam, which aims to commercialise beam diagnostic research outputs.
