Sophia Malko

Sophia Malko, a staff research scientist Laboratory in high energy density plasmas and inertial fusion energy at Princeton Plasma Physics. She began her academic journey by obtaining her undergraduate and master's degrees at V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University in Ukraine, with a strong focus on experimental nuclear physics and plasma physics. Sophia has earned her Ph.D. in 2020 from the University of Salamanca with a thesis "Charge Particle Transport in Extreme States of Matter." Her work now revolves around experimental studies of laser-driven plasmas, utilizing high-repetition-rate short-pulse and high-energy long-pulse lasers at European and LaserNetUS facilities. She leads an international effort to advance both theoretical and experimental research on charged particle transport in high energy density plasma and warm dense matter. This research is particularly important for advancing modeling and optimization of alpha particle transport in inertial confinement fusion implosions.

Sophia's influence extends to promoting and expanding the LaserNetUS network in the United States and globally. She holds the position of Vice-Chair of the LaserNetUS Diagnostics Committee and organizes annual LaserNetUS users meetings and topical workshops, fostering knowledge exchange and collaboration within the scientific community.

LaserNetUS Affiliations:

• LaserNetUS Data& Diagnostics Committee Member 2 year
• LaserNetUS Data& Diagnostics Committee Member Vice Chair 6 months 
• LaserNetUS Cycle 3,4,5 Principal Investigator 
• 2023 LaserNetUS User Meeting, Communication chair
• 2023 Data and Diagnostics Workshop, Chair

Featured Publications:

1.    S. Malko, W. Cayzac, V. Ospina-Bohorquez, K. Bhutwala, M. Bailly-Grandvaux, G. McGuffey, R. Fedosejevs, An. Tauschwitz, J.A. Apinaniz. D. de Luis X. Vaisseau, G. Gatti, M. Huault, J.A. Perez-Hernandez, S.X. Hu, A.J. White, L. Collins, K. Nichols, P. Neumayer, G. Faussurier, J. Vorverger, G. Prestopino, C. Verona, J.J. Santos, D. Batani, F. Beg, L. Roso and L. Volpe: Proton stopping power measurements in warm dense matter at low velocity projectile | Nature Communications 13 (2022) https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-30472-8 

2.    S. Malko, D. Schaeffer, W. Fox, C. Johnson, G. Fiksel: Design of proton deflectometry with in situ x-ray fiducial for magnetized highenergy- density systems | Applied Optics 61(6) (2022) https://doi.org/10.1364/AO.448294

3.     S. Malko, X. Vaisseau, F. Perez, A. Curcio, M. Ehret, J. Santos, D. Batani, K. Jakubowska, J. Honrubia, A. Morace and L. Volpe: Enhanced relativistic electron beam collimation using two consecutive laser pulses |Scientific Reports 9(1) (2019) https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-50401-y