Irina Petrushina

2021 Regional Award Finalist — Post-Doc

Current Position:
Research Assistant Professor

Institution:
Stony Brook University

Discipline:
Nuclear & Plasma Physics

Recognized for: Physicist Irina Petrushina has made astonishing contributions to the field of modern accelerator physics. An accelerator is a device that is used to propel charged particles, such as electrons, to extremely high energies, and these devices are critically important to scientists who are looking to answer some of the most fundamental questions in high energy physics. Her work on the new photo-gun design dramatically improved the performance of superconducting radiofrequency accelerators and prompted the accelerator community to re-imagine this evolving technology. Petrushina has also made incredible experimental breakthroughs on another accelerator technology—laser wake field accelerators (LWFAs), designing a diagnostic tool capable of imaging the important properties of plasmas in LWFAs.

Areas of Research Interest and Expertise: Accelerator Physics, X-ray Free-electron Lasers, High Energy Physics, Laser Wakefield Accelerators, Superconducting Radiofrequency (RF) Technology

Previous Positions:

MS, National Research Nuclear University, Russia (Advisor: N.P. Sobenin)
RF Engineer, National Research Nuclear University MEPhI, Russia (Advisor: N.P. Sobenin)
PhD, Stony Brook University (Advisor: V.N. Litvinenko)
Research Scientist, Stony Brook University (Advisor: V.N. Litvinenko)

Research Summary:

Accelerators are critically-important to scientists seeking to answer fundamental questions about our universe, and the contributions of physicist Irina Petrushina, PhD, to the field of modern accelerator physics are unrivaled at this stage in her career. Petrushina’s research focuses on two distinct accelerator technologies: superconducting radiofrequency photoinjectors (also known as SRF photo-guns) and Laser Wake Field Accelerators (LWFAs). While SRF photo-guns continue to be the backbone of modern accelerator technology, issues with the technology still remain, including device performance. Her work on the new SRF photo-gun design dramatically improved the performance of this accelerator technology, achieving world-record brightness in the electron beams produced. This discovery has prompted the accelerator physics community, including at Brookhaven National Laboratory and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, to re-imagine the capabilities of this evolving technology.

Petrushina’s work on LWFAs—a new accelerator technology that uses powerful lasers and plasmas to accelerate charged particles—has been equally as impactful. She has designed and built an ultra-high-resolution diagnostic tool capable of imaging the properties of electromagnetic fields produced in this type of accelerator. This new diagnostic imaging tool will prove pivotal in characterizing and improving the performance of the burgeoning LWFA technology. Her achievements are advancing fundamental high energy physics research and could lead to the development of new inexpensive table-top proton and ion-radiation therapy devices for cancer treatment.

"I am truly honored to be named a Blavatnik Regional Award Finalist, and I am especially proud to represent the Accelerator Physics community. I hope to inspire future scientists and engineers to explore the exciting world of Accelerator Physics."

Key Publications:

1. E. Wang, V.N. Litvinenko, I. Pinayev, M. Gaowei, J. Skaritka, S. Belomestnykh, I. Ben-Zvi, J.C. Brutus, Y. Jing, J. Biswas, J. Ma, G. Narayan, I. Petrushina et al. Long lifetime of bialkali photocathodes operating in high gradient Superconducting Radio Frequency gun. Scientific Reports, 2021
2. P. Kumar, K. Yu, R. Zgadzaj, M. Downer, I. Petrushina et al. Evolution of the self-injection process in long wavelength infrared laser driven LWFA. Physics of Plasmas, 2021.
3. I. Pinayev, Y. Jing, D. Kayran, V.N. Litvinenko, J. Ma, K. Mihara, I. Petrushina et al. Using solenoid as multipurpose tool for measuring beam parameters. Review of Scientific Instruments, 2021.
4. V.N. Litvinenko, Y. Jing, D. Kayran, P. Inacker, J. Ma, T. Miller, I. Petrushina et al. Plasma-cascade instability. Physical Review Accelerators and Beams, 2021.
5. I. Petrushina et al. High-Brightness Continuous-Wave Electron Beams from Superconducting Radio-Frequency Photoemission Gun. Physical Review Letters, 2020.

Other Honors:

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