Archie Bott is a plasma physicist who specialises in the study of astrophysical and laser-produced plasmas. Archie completed his DPhil in Atomic and Laser Physics at the University of Oxford in July 2019, with his thesis focusing on magnetic-field amplification in turbulent laser plasmas. In September 2019, he moved to the USA to work as a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Astrophysical Sciences at Princeton University, where he remained for three years. During this time, Archie worked on kinetic simulations of astrophysical plasmas, completing research on the interaction between kinetic instabilities and plasma turbulence.

In September 2022, Archie moved back to Oxford to begin his Future Leaders Fellowship (FLF). The goal of Archie’s Future Leaders Fellowship programme is to characterise systematically the anomalous material properties of magnetised, weakly collisional plasmas. This extreme type of plasma, which is common in astrophysical environments and laser-plasma experiments, is quite unlike the plasma and gas usually found in terrestrial contexts because of its complicated microphysics, and so classical plasma models are typically inadequate. Constructing new models should help address several long-standing astrophysical puzzles, refine interpretations of astronomical observations, and aid efforts to realise laser-fusion power.

So far, during his FLF, Archie has completed the first systematic study of kinetic instabilities in magnetised, weakly collisional plasma, a piece of research that has provided a strong foundation for the rest of his FLF research programme. He has also been working with a postdoctoral researcher and graduate students towards realising new simulations and experiments investigating magnetised, weakly collisional plasmas. Archie’s broader research interests include magnetised plasma dynamics, turbulent plasmas, plasma dynamo processes, and laboratory astrophysics.