The IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society (NPSS) awards the Graduate Scholarship Award to graduate students to recognize contributions to the fields of Nuclear and Plasma Sciences. Awards are given based on scholarship such as academic record, reports, presentations, publications, research plans, related projects and related work experience. Participation in IEEE activities through presentations, publications, student Chapter involvement, etc., will also be considered.
Raymond Lau graduated from Rice University in 2020 with a B.S.M.E. in Mechanical Engineering before pursuing a M.S. and Ph.D. in Aeronautics & Astronautics at Stanford University. During his M.S., Raymond developed computational particle-in-cell models to simulate low temperature plasma devices — namely, Hall effect thrusters and capacitively coupled plasmas. Raymond took the skills gained from these projects and applied it in the pursuit of his Ph.D. towards hypervelocity impact plasmas: plasmas formed via high speed impacts between a projectile and target material. These plasmas can form in the space environment due to the impact between micrometeoroids or space debris and a spacecraft surface. Raymond’s work has been able to simulate and characterize electromagnetic radiation from these plasmas, which has been observed in experiments in the form of an electromagnetic pulse (EMP), and has developed theory explaining the existence of this EMP. Apart from his Ph.D studies, Raymond has pursued internships in inertial confinement fusion, conducting hydrodynamic simulations at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in summer 2024 and Pacific Fusion in summer 2025. Raymond has received various awards in his studies, such as the NSF GRFP and first place in the 2023 International Union of Radio Science General Assembly Scientific Symposium (URSI GASS) student paper/presentation competition.
https://ieee-npss.org/awards/2025-award-winners/
