John Edwards is the director of Livermore Institute for Fusion Technology at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), which was established to accelerate public-private partnerships and drive science and technology innovation to enable the development of commercial fusion energy.
Edwards helped shape the early development of LLNL’s high-energy-density science program, led target physics and ignition activities at the National Ignition Facility (NIF), and served as director of LLNL’s inertial confinement fusion program. John helped guide the sustained program of scientific and organizational advances that established the foundation for the 2022 achievement of fusion ignition. His work has encompassed target design, HED physics, experimental strategy, national program coordination, and collaboration with laboratories, universities, government sponsors, and international partners.
He is a fellow of the American Physical Society and a recipient of the Fusion Power Associates Leadership Award. He was also a member of the research team that received the American Physical Society’s John Dawson Award for Excellence in Plasma Physics Research for achieving a burning plasma at NIF.
Edwards received his Ph.D. in laser-plasma physics from Imperial College London and subsequently held scientific and program leadership positions in the United Kingdom before joining Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 1998.
