About me
Dr. Laura Berzak Hopkins is the Associate Laboratory Director for Strategy and Partnerships and Deputy Chief Research Officer for the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), a US Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory. At PPPL, Laura focuses on long-range strategic planning for future laboratory capabilities. She strives to leverage institutional legacy while responding to the broadening mission space of plasma science. Forging partnerships is a key step toward resolving technical challenges in efficient generation of energy via fusion and in subsequently making that energy available to the global community. Building lasting and impactful bridges with a wide range of public and private entities is a top priority for her.
Prior to joining PPPL in 2024, Laura was an Associate Program Director at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, a US DOE National Nuclear Security Administration national laboratory. While at Livermore, she led multi-disciplinary research teams pursuing efforts to build integrated modeling, simulation, and experimental platforms. Laura was also a design physicist within the inertial confinement fusion program and in this role developed laser-target concepts as part of the ignition design at the National Ignition Facility. She has served as a scientific advisor in the US Congress and has pursued policy research efforts focused on arms control and non-proliferation issues. Laura holds a doctorate degree in Plasma Physics from Princeton University, and she has an enduring passion for communicating science to diverse audiences.