Christian Gabriel Theiler

Biography

Christian Theiler obtained his Master’s degree in physics from ETH Zurich in 2007 and his PhD from EPFL in 2011. He then joined MIT as a postdoctoral associate to work on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak. In 2014, he returned to EPFL as a EUROfusion fellow, to join the TCV tokamak team. Two years later, he was named Tenure Track Assistant Professor in Plasma Physics at EPFL. Christian’s research focuses on tokamak boundary physics and related diagnostic techniques. He has contributed to the understanding of the formation, propagation, and control of turbulent plasma structures, called blobs, and gained new insights on the structure of transport barriers in the plasma periphery in different high-confinement regimes. His current research focuses on detachment physics and turbulence characteristics in conventional and alternative divertor magnetic geometries. In 2024, Christian was promoted to Associate Professor at EPFL.

Distinctions and awards:

- Winner of the 2020 IAEA Nuclear Fusion Award
- Winner of an SNSF Eccellenza Grant (2019-2023)
 - PI for a EUROfusion Enabling Research Grant (2019-2020)
 - Young Scientist Award of the IUPAP Commission on Plasma Physics, 2015
 - EUROfusion postdoctoral fellowship (2014-2016)
 - SNSF advanced postdoctoral mobility grant (2014)
 - Finalist, EPFL Doctorate Award 2013 
 - Itoh Project Prize in Plasma Turbulence 2009: Highly Commended
 - Diploma in physics with distinction from ETH