Students gain firsthand experience at the nexus of fusion science and policy

Two graduate students from the University of Wisconsin–Madison Department of Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics (NEEP) are engaging in public policy through a new program that advocates for the students, university programs, and workforce initiatives that will help bring fusion energy to fruition.

The Fusion Student Delegation (FuSD) is a student-led initiative that prepares the next generation of fusion policy advocates. Centered around an annual program in Washington, D.C., FuSD gives students the opportunity to analyze existing policy documents, write original policy statements, and engage with policymakers, think tanks, industry groups, and scientific experts.

The first FuSD cohort formed in 2024, with NEEP alumna Louise Ferris (MS ‘24) as the founding Chair. The program has gained momentum in its first three years, bringing together around a dozen undergraduate and graduate students from across the country each year to advocate for fusion-relevant policy.

Fusion energy is produced by the same kinds of nuclear fusion reactions that power the sun and other stars, and its readily-available fuel sources make it an attractive source of clean energy.  

“Fusion could help make energy an afterthought in most people’s minds,” says FuSD Chair Juan Valderrama. “If we have more reliable and abundant sources of energy, like fusion, other aspects of society can grow and improve without being constrained by energy demands.”

The science is rapidly advancing, but the infrastructure and workforce required to commercialize fusion are in the early stages of development. The students involved in FuSD recognize that their research is not the only way they can contribute to the field. Through policy advocacy, they can help pave the way for scientific discoveries to revolutionize the energy landscape. 

“As scientists, we spend so much time in the lab not knowing what happens to the discoveries and contributions we make to the scientific community,” says Nivedan Vishwanath, one of the FuSD Vice Chairs.

FuSD provides an opportunity for students to see firsthand how scientific discoveries inform policy. At the same time, they learn how policy decisions can shape academic research. By bringing scientists and policymakers together, FuSD strives to align both parties to advance fusion energy.

“We need policy-informed scientists and science-informed policymakers,” says Valderrama. “We learn how policy works, and policymakers learn how science is being carried out.” 

Equipping policy-informed scientists

Through FuSD, delegates are introduced to the policymaking process by studying live policy proposals and meeting with a range of experts, from think tanks that draft fusion policies to the congressional committees that administer fusion legislation. 

This year, the delegation was introduced to the Fusion Workforce Act, an initiative designed to grow the fusion workforce—not just engineers and scientists, but also technicians, operators, communicators, educators, and beyond. After reviewing the bill, the delegates met with policy analysts from think tanks like ClearPath and Third Way to seek their perspective on how the act might play out in reality. They also engaged congressional offices without strong ties to fusion to discuss how the bill affects various beneficiaries. 

Beyond learning about fusion policies and the policymaking process, delegates also discover career opportunities for scientists in public policy. For example, organizations like the American Nuclear Society (ANS) and the American Physical Society (APS) have annual congressional fellowship programs that place recent graduates in a congressional office.

The delegates met with the ANS Congressional Fellow, Dr. Alyssa Hayes, to hear about her experience as a scientist in the Senate Committee for Environment and Public Works. That kind of exposure to different career opportunities through the FuSD program has led Vishwanath to consider a policy career with more seriousness as he approaches the end of his PhD program. 

“During my first year in the delegation, I was introduced to the idea and saw that these careers exist,” he says. “This year, people that I made connections with last year remembered me and we were able to have more conversations about exploring a career in this field.”

For alumni who are not interested in policy careers, the program still equips them to advocate personally and professionally, while providing valuable insights about the policies that govern their field of work. 

“I still see myself as a scientist first, but a scientist that will contribute to policy,” says Valderrama. “I see the importance of being informed about how policies are developed, contributing to those policies, and engaging with communities that aren’t as familiar with fusion. FuSD has given me the opportunity to see the bigger picture—not just who is influencing, but also who is being influenced by policy decisions.”

Promoting science-informed policy

Another major intention behind the FuSD program is ensuring that policymakers understand the benefits of fusion technology and the mechanisms of academic research, so they can make informed policy decisions that not only support scientific advancements, but also advance the fusion workforce.

“We arrange meetings with offices of districts that we come from, where we go to school, and where our families live to engage, ask how much they hear about fusion in their day-to-day, and shine light on policy developments that could be of interest to them,” Valderrama says.

One major obstacle facing fusion policy today is the growing, but still limited awareness of what nuclear fusion is, particularly as it differs from nuclear fission. 

“Many of the offices we visit haven’t heard of fusion, but they have heard of fission,” says Vishwanath. “While we champion both, it’s important to tell them what fusion is and how it is different from fission.”

This important role of advocating for fusion separately from fission is why FuSD was established in the first place. The program was inspired by the Nuclear Engineering Student Delegation (NESD), developed in 1994 to express student perspectives on the future of nuclear energy, policy, education, and research. Noting that NESD focuses primarily on nuclear fission initiatives, members of the academic fusion community worked together to organize the fusion-specific counterpart. 

“Fission and fusion have different research needs, different funding agencies, different workforce needs, and different policy and advocacy needs,” Valderrama says. 

By meeting with key stakeholders, fusion experts can shed light on those differences and advocate for policies that account for the unique needs of the fusion community. A recent example is the 2024 ADVANCE Act which required the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to determine a set of regulations specifically for fusion devices. Regulatory policies govern licensing for new plants, nuclear material handling, and safeguards, so having distinct regulatory frameworks for fission and fusion is paramount.

“Now that there are commercial players coming into the fusion space, you need the right kind of licensing frameworks,” says Valderrama. “These newer bills have introduced conversations about what proper regulation for fusion will look like.”

Many of the private fusion companies cropping up in recent years have spun out of university programs. In fact, several NEEP faculty co-founded Type One Energy and Realta Fusion, and NEEP alumnus Greg Piefer (MS ’04, PhD ’06) founded SHINE Technologies.

“The work that students, postdoctoral researchers, scientists, and professors do at universities is so important for fusion,” Valderrama says. “It’s important to continue supporting and strengthening university programs as fusion research develops, here in Wisconsin and across the country.”

The delegation met directly with members of fusion funding agencies like the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation to learn more about federal support for university fusion research. Those conversations encouraged the delegation to call for a fusion-specific fellowship program in their annual policy brief. 

FuSD connects students with the resources and audiences they need to advocate for their own education, research, and future careers by engaging in policy conversations that affect them and fusion students across the county. 

Looking back and looking ahead

Now in its third year, FuSD is starting to refine its mission. Academic institutions, private corporations, and national labs all have a vested interest in fusion and have historically advocated for fusion through cohesive, yet broad messaging. In its first two years, FuSD followed suit, but the 2026 delegation now emphasizes a narrower focus, leaning into their unique role as a voice of fusion students and for fusion students. 

“The groups we meet with welcome our insights and our perspectives, because they’re making decisions about programs that impact hundreds of students,” says Valderrama. “If they hear from at least a dozen of those students, they can continue to gear those programs in the right direction.”

“It’s good having a delegation as diverse as ours because everyone comes from a different background, is funded through a different program, and is working on a different aspect of fusion science,” says Vishwanath. “They recognize that we are the next in line in the workforce, and I think they appreciate knowing how our work impacts fusion and how their policy efforts trickle down to us.”

While the program is intentionally structured to be small, Valderrama hopes the program will continue to attract additional interest from students across the country, noting that there are several schools with active fusion programs that have not been represented in the delegation.

“The goal is for each delegation to be representative of as many programs as possible, as many geographical regions as possible, and as many different academic experiences as possible,” he says.

FuSD also recently reached a global audience during the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Technical Meeting on Developing the Fusion Workforce in late April. Valderrama delivered a talk to 120 participants from 33 IAEA member states demonstrating how FuSD could serve as a model for engaging students in public policy as it pertains to the future fusion workforce. His talk sparked interest from early career researchers in the UK looking to launch a similar initiative. 

“FuSD also inspires students in other nations to organize and advocate for fusion-friendly policies,” says Vishwanath. “When we zoom out, it is clear that fusion energy represents a shared future, one that no single country can build alone.”

As Vishwanath and Valderrama pass the baton to new leadership, they look forward to being part of a growing network of alumni and witnessing the measurable impact of the program over time. 

“Advocacy groups such as FuSD help raise awareness not only about new energy technologies like fusion, but also about the complex policy landscape that must be traversed in order for them to become reality,” says Valderrama. “These groups, especially when they are made up of students, allow the future leaders of those fields to gain skills and knowledge that may one day be useful in the development of science-enabling policies.”

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