Plenary Talks
1. ITER project status

Pietro Barabaschi
Director General, ITER Organization
Trained as an electro-mechanical engineer, Pietro Barabaschi has spent virtually his entire career in the service of fusion research. Shortly after his university studies in Italy, he joined the Joint European Torus, JET. During the Engineering Design Activities (EDA) phase for ITER, he was part of the Joint Work Site in San Diego (USA) and later the Joint Work Site in Garching/Munich (Germany), where by 2006 he was Deputy to the Project Leader and Head of the Design Integration Division. Since 2008, Mr Barabaschi has been the Head of Broader Approach Programme and Delivery for Fusion for Energy (F4E), the European Union organization responsible for Europe's contribution to ITER. The work includes the construction, now completed, of the advanced tokamak fusion device JT-60SA. Since October 2022 Pietro Barabaschi is the Director-General of the ITER Organization.
Director General, ITER Organization
2. How superconducting technology can hasten carbon neutrality?
- What are to your opinion the key superconducting applications that will benefits to sustainability?
- What would be your impact estimation on carbon emission of one such application deployed at your nation scale?
- How to fasten these applications implementations worldwide?
- How to make visible superconducting applications as beneficial to sustainability?

Liye XIAO
Professor, Institute of Electrical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Prof. Liye Xiao has been working in the energy technology field for more than 20 years. Most of his research activities are related to superconductor applications in the energy and power industry. He lead to successfully build a 10kV superconducting power substation in 2011, and acted as the director of his institute during 2007-2017. Now he focuses his research on energy storage and power transmission grid for the zero carbon goal.
Professor, Institute of Electrical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Sataro YAMAGUCHI
Designated Professor, Chubu University
Originally, Sataro YAMAGUCHI studied nuclear fusion. After joining Chubu University in 2001, he developed the Superconducting DC power transmission (SCDC) using high temperature superconductors (HTS), and constructed the 20 m, the 200 m SCDCs inside the university, and 1000 m and 500 m SCDC in Ishikari, Japan.
Designated Professor, Chubu University

Byung Su LIM
Professor of Energy Engineering, Korea Institute of Energy Technology (KENTECH)
Byungs Su LIM is a professor at the Korea Institue of Energy Technology. He has worked in the field of superconductivity and superconducting magnets for more than 25 years. He was a former Section Leader of ITER PF Coil/CC Coil Section. He was a team leader of the KSTAR Toroidal Field magnet team. He was a team leader of procurement and test team in ITER KODA office. He worked for Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology as a responsible officer for the KSTAR superconductors. He has a Ph.D. in Metallurgical Engineering, 1998, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul (Korea).
Professor of Energy Engineering, Korea Institute of Energy Technology (KENTECH)
3. Very high field MRI scientific and industrial perspectives
- Exploring the Human Brain with Ultra-high Field MRI: Perspectives from the Iseult Project

Denis LE BIHAN
Founding Director, NeuroSpin, CEA Saclay, Paris Saclay University
Denis Le Bihan, MD, PhD, is a physician and a physicist. He founded NeuroSpin in Saclay, France, a leading institution of the CEA dedicated to ultra-high field MRI where he set and led the Iseult project (11.7T whole-body MRI). He has received many prestigious awards for his work, such as the Gold Medal of the International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, the Honda Prize, the Louis D. Award and the Louis-Jeantet Prize. Dr Le Bihan is a full member of the French Academy of Sciences, the Academy of Technologies, the National Academy of Medicine, and an Associate Member of the National Academy of Pharmacy.
Founding Director, NeuroSpin, CEA Saclay, Paris Saclay University
- Ultra-High-Filed MRI – The only way towards precision diagnosis?

Arthur KAINDL
Executive Vice President Magnetic Resonance, Siemens Healthineers AG
Dr. Arthur Kaindl is Executive Vice President at Siemens Healthineers. Prior to that, Arthur Kaindl headed the Digital Services and Imaging SW business for Siemens Healthcare. He first started his career at Siemens Healthcare in the Magnetic Resonance Imaging business, where he held various positions in Engineering, Manufacturing and Marketing. Arthur Kaindl holds Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, a Master of Science in Ceramics Engineering and a Diploma Degree in Material Science.
Executive Vice President Magnetic Resonance, Siemens Healthineers AG
4. High Energy Physics in US and Europe
- If you were asked for THE next accelerators and/or experiments needed for HEP, what would they be? No more than three!
- MT28 is a magnet conference. What is your message to the magnet community for magnet performance needs for HEP future accelerators and/or experiments?
- Which (credible) magnet development direction would provide the most support to the HEP community?

Mike LAMONT
Director of Accelerators and Technology, CERN
Lamont joined CERN as a fellow in 1989, becoming an engineer-in-charge for SPS/LEP Operations in 1991 and subsequently LEP Machine Coordinator. Following LEP, he became LHC Machine Coordinator, overseeing the preparation for the initial commissioning. From 2009 to 2016, he led the Operations group in the Beams department. In 2017, he became deputy head of the Beams department where, besides departmental duties, he co-coordinated the Physics Beyond Colliders study. In 2021, he became Director of Accelerators and Technology.
Director of Accelerators and Technology, CERN
5. Alternative paths to commercial fusion
- MT28 is a magnet conference. What is your message to the magnet community for magnet performance needs for a functioning fusion reactor? Which (successful) magnet development direction would provide the most support?
- If you were asked for THE top problem to be solved on the route to commercial fusion, what would it be?
- We hear of proposals for future advanced tokamaks and DEMO/CFETR fusion reactors. How critical is the role of ITER for the success of these projects?
- How magnetic fusion can be integrated, if not already, within your national (EU, US, China) plan to solve climate and energy crisis?

Gianfranco FEDERICI
Head of the Fusion Technology Department, EUROFusion
Gianfranco Federici has 30 years of professional experience in fusion engineering and fusion reactor design and R&D, plasma-facing component design and R&D, plasma surface interactions, breeding blanket design and R&D. NET Team (1990-1992); ITER EDA Team (1993-2006); EFDA (2006-2007); Fusion for Energy (2008-2010); EFDA (2011-2013), EUROfusion (2014-today). Today he is responsible for the coordination and technical oversight of the Design and R&D efforts in Europe aimed to the conceptual design of a DEMOnstration Fusion Power Plant (DEMO). Gianfranco Federici has Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering, 1989, University of California, Los Angeles (USA), Master Degree in Nuclear Engineering, 1988, University of California, Los Angeles (USA); Degree in Nuclear Engineering, 1985, Polytechnic of Milan, (Italy).
Head of the Fusion Technology Department, EUROFusion

Yuntao SONG
Professor/Director of Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Yuntao Song works as the Director of the Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ASIPP), since 2020. He is now in charge of the EAST tokamak project. He received his Ph.D from the Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Sciences. His research focuses on key technologies of tokamak fusion devices including large-scale superconducting magnet systems. He has been involved in multiple fusion research and R&D projects in China such as CFETR, the CRAFT project etc.. He has also been involved in research for the ITER project since from 2008.
Professor/Director of Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Dennis WHYTE
Director of Plasma Science & Fusion Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Professor of Engineering, Hitachi America
A recognized leader in fusion research, especially in the magnetic confinement of plasmas, Whyte has paved an innovative and faster path to producing fusion energy. He leads the fusion project, SPARC — a compact, high-field, net fusion energy fusion device — in collaboration with private fusion startup Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS). The core of the SPARC project was formed over eight years ago during a design course led by Whyte to challenge assumptions in fusion. Many of the ideas underpinning the high-field approach — including the use of HTS for high-field, demountable magnets, liquid blankets, and ARC (a fusion power plant concept) — have been conceived of or significantly advanced in his design courses. Whyte has over 350 publications, is a fellow of the American Physical Society, and has served on panels for the National Academies, the United States government, and the Royal Society. In 2018, Whyte received The Fusion Power Associates (FPA) Board of Directors Leadership Award which is given annually to individuals who have shown outstanding leadership qualities in accelerating the development of fusion. Whyte earned a B.Eng from the University of Saskatchewan, and an MS and PhD from Université du Québec.
Director of Plasma Science & Fusion Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Professor of Engineering, Hitachi America