Laggner FLorian

Assistant Professor

Floaian Laggner earned his Ph.D. from TU Wien in 2017. For his research, he studied how inter-edge-localized modes (ELMs) affect the pedestal structure at the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak. After graduation, he joined the Plasma Control Group at Princeton University as a postdoctoral researcher. There, he helped implement a real-time Thomson scattering diagnostic at the National Spherical Torus Experiment-Upgrade and the Large Helical Device.

In 2019, Laggner moved to the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. At this facility, he installed a prototype Lyman-α diagnostic called LLAMA at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility. This diagnostic allows researchers to measure edge neutral density profiles with greater accuracy. In 2022, he joined NC State Nuclear Engineering as an assistant professor. Soon after, he established the FPAC Lab to expand plasma diagnostics and fusion research.

Laggner also serves as an APS Career Mentoring Fellow. In this role, he has advised and mentored many undergraduate and graduate students. Furthermore, he has guided research projects and trained the next generation of scientists and engineers.

Research Interests

Laggner studies high-temperature plasmas in magnetic confinement fusion devices known as tokamaks. He is an expert in plasma edge physics and advanced plasma diagnostics. His research focuses on the H-mode pedestal, with special attention to the pedestal profile structure, its stability, and the ionization source of neutral particles entering confined plasma.

In addition, Laggner works to develop and test new technological solutions for auxiliary systems, such as plasma diagnostics. He studies how these systems can withstand the extreme environment of a future fusion pilot plant. Through this research, he aims to support the development of reliable fusion energy.

Education

Publications

AMAROK: A Radio Frequency Development Platform for High-Power, Full-Scale Positive Ion Sources for DIII-D Neutral Beam Injectors
Davda, K. M., Laggner, F. M., Kallenberg, E., Mazzeo, A., Allen, M., Ammons, K. J., … Crowley, B. (2026, March 12), IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science. https://doi.org/10.1109/tps.2026.3662254
Development and Validation of a Modular Actively Cooled High-Heat-Flux Test Stand Utilizing an Electron-Beam Powder Bed Fusion Platform
Zhang, H., Horn, T., Schillaci, A., Matavalam, N., Laggner, F., Uvalle, S., & Carriere, P. (2026, January 1), SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.6282040
Fluid-kinetic modeling of a high power density radio frequency inductively coupled positive hydrogen ion source
Hossain, M. S., Regev, T., Shah, M. A., Laggner, F. M., Ammons, K. J., Mazzeo, A., … Lietz, A. M. (2026, January 23), Plasma Sources Science and Technology. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6595/ae3cbf
AMAROK: A Novel Single-Turn Multi-Coil Antenna Demonstration Setup for DIII-D Neutral Beam Injector Upgrade
Davda, K. M., Laggner, F. M., Kallenberg, E., Ammons, K. J., Crowley, B. J., Scoville, J. T., … Shah, M. A. (2025, June 15). , . https://doi.org/10.1109/ppps56198.2025.11248474
Combined Influence of Rotation and Scrape-Off Layer Drifts on Recycling Asymmetries in Tokamak Plasmas
Emdee, E. D., Horvath, L., Bortolon, A., Gerrú, R., Wilkie, G. J., Haskey, S. R., & Laggner, F. M. (2025, November 24), Physical Review Letters. https://doi.org/10.1103/zjpv-vxwd
Design and Engineering of LUPIN: A Test-Bed Radio-Frequency Ion Source for Enhanced Neutral Beam Injection on DIII-D
Mazzeo, A., Laggner, F. M., Ammons, K. J., Hossain, S., Kallenberg, E., King, L., … Scoville, J. T. (2025, June 16), Fusion Science & Technology, Vol. 6. https://doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2025.2498216
Design and Study of Inductively Coupled Plasma Chamber Components Using the SupRISE Test Device at DIII-D
Kallenberg, E., Crowley, B., Scoville, J. T., Laggner, F. M., Mazzeo, A., Ammons, K. J., … Shannon, S. C. (2025, August 4), Fusion Science & Technology, Vol. 8. https://doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2025.2515323
Impact of ionization peak location on measured opaqueness in DIII-D H-mode plasmas
Balbin-Arias, J. J., Mordijck, S., Wilks, T. M., Horvath, L., Odstrcil, T., Chaban, R. A., … Gerrú, R. (2025, August 19), Nuclear Fusion. https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/adfce7
Impact of the isotope effect on divertor detachment and pedestal structure in DIII-D
Mattes, R., Casali, L., Osborne, T., Leonard, A., Wang, H., Laggner, F., … McLean, A. (2025, October 15), Nuclear Fusion. https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/ae137a
Production- and Transport-Limited Fluxes in Inductively Coupled Ion Sources for Neutral Beam Injectors
Hossain, M. S., Regev, T., Mazzeo, A., Ammons, K. J., Laggner, F. M., Shah, M. A., … Lietz, A. M. (2025, June 15). , . https://doi.org/10.1109/ppps56198.2025.11248336

View all publications via NC State Libraries

Florian Laggner