Daniel Casey was first intrigued by the concept of fusion in high school, getting a chance to see the Sandia National Laboratories Z machine in action.
Even though he had a passion for fusion, he probably never imagined he would achieve what he has to date: being part of the team late last year to make history by achieving fusion at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) National Ignition Facility (NIF).
When he is not working, he enjoys taking advantage of a benefit of living in California by engaging in water activities like kayaking and boating, something he couldn’t do in the high desert where he grew up.
Although the challenges to the next steps in the fusion story are many, Casey finds the work fun and invigorating.