Biography
Assistant Professor Jack Hare graduated with first class honors in natural sciences at the University of Cambridge in 2011, followed by a master’s degree in plasma physics from Princeton University in 2013. His Ph.D. research at Imperial College London was supervised by professor Sergey Lebedev on the MAGPIE generator, where he studied magnetic reconnection in high-energy-density laboratory plasmas. He received his doctorate in 2017, followed by postdoctoral appointments at Imperial College (2017-2019 and 2020) and the Max -Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Garching, Germany (2019). He started his new research group based around the PUFFIN pulsed-power generator at MIT in 2021, and moved to Cornell University in 2025.
Research Interests
Plasma makes up 99.99% of the visible matter in the Universe, and is also the state of matter necessary for producing controlled thermonuclear fusion as a carbon-free energy source. Hare focuses on the processes which move energy around within these plasmas, to understand the dynamics of astrophysical objects, and how to stabilize and control the plasma inside a fusion power-plant. Hare studies these processes, such as magnetized shocks, magnetic reconnection, and magnetized turbulence, by creating plasma in the laboratory using intense pulses of electrical current, which heat thin wires to the plasma state.
Teaching Interests
Plasma physics, plasma diagnostics, controlled fusion, electromagnetism, circuits.
Select Publications
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T.W.O. Varnish, Chen, J., Chowdhry, S., Datta, R., Dowhan, G.V., Horan, L.S., IV, Jordan, N.M., Neill, E.R., Shah, A.P., Shapovalov, R., Sporer, B.J., McBride, R.D., Hare, J.D., 2025. “Quadrupolar density structures in driven magnetic reconnection experiments with a guide field“, Physics of Plasmas, 2025.
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R. Datta, K. Chandler, C.E. Myers, J. P. Chittenden, A. J. Crilly, C. Aragon, D. J. Ampleford, J. T. Banasek, A. Edens, W. R. Fox, S. B. Hansen, E. C. Harding, C. A. Jennings, H. Ji, C. C. Kuranz, S. V. Lebedev, Q. Looker, S. G. Patel, A. Porwitzky, G. A. Shipley, D. A. Uzdensky, D. A. Yager-Elorriaga, and J.D. Hare, “Plasmoid formation and strong radiative cooling in a driven magnetic reconnection experiment” , Physical Review Letters, 2024.
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R. Datta, A. J. Crilly, J. P. Chittenden, S. Chowdhry, K. Chandler, N. Chaturvedi, C. E. Myers, W. R. Fox, S. B. Hansen, C. A. Jennings, H. Ji, C. C. Kuranz, S. V. Lebedev, D. A. Uzdensky, and J. D. Hare, “Simulations of Radiatively Cooled Magnetic Reconnection Driven by Pulsed Power” , Journal of Plasma Physics, 2024.
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S. Merlini, J. D. Hare, G. C. Burdiak, J. W. D. Halliday, A. Ciardi, J. P. Chittenden, T. Clayson, A. J. Crilly, S. J. Eardley, K. E. Marrow, D. R. Russell, R. A. Smith, N. Stuart, L. G. Suttle, E. R. Tubman, V. Valenzuela-Villaseca, T. W. O. Varnish, and S. V. Lebedev, “Radiative cooling effects on reverse shocks formed by magnetized supersonic plasma flows” , Physics of Plasmas, 2023.
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J. D. Hare, L. Suttle, S. V. Lebedev, N. F. Loureiro, A. Ciardi, G. C. Burdiak, J. P. Chittenden, et al., “Anomalous Heating and Plasmoid Formation in a Driven Magnetic Reconnection Experiment”, Physical Review Letters, 2017.
Select Awards and Honors
- Thomas H. Stix Award for Outstanding Early Career Contributions to Plasma Physics Research, American Physical Society 2025
- MIT School of Engineering Ruth and Joel Spira Award for Distinguished Teaching 2024
- NSF CAREER award 2023
- Michigan Institute of Plasma Science and Engineering Early Career Lecturer 2023
- European Physical Society Plasma Physics Division PhD Research Award 2018
Education
- B.A. (Hons) Natural Science, University of Cambridge 2010
- M.Sci. Natural Sciences, University of Cambridge 2011
- M.A. Plasma Physics, Princeton University 2013
- Ph.D. Plasma Physics, Imperial College London 2017
