Professor Ian Hutchinson
BA (Cambridge), PhD (ANU)
Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Professor Ian Hutchinson works at the cutting edge of nuclear fusion and plasma physics, harnessing the power of the sun and stars to generate new energy sources. A graduate of Cambridge University and the ANU, he is the author of over 200 journal articles and the classic work on measuring plasmas, Principles of Plasma Diagnostics.

Professor Hutchinson and his MIT team designed, built and operate the Alcator C-Mod tokamak confinement device, an international experimental facility whose plasma temperatures reach beyond 50 million degrees Celsius, and are prototypical of a future fusion reactor. He directed the Alcator project from 1987 to 2003 and served as head of MIT’s nuclear science and engineering department from 2003 to 2009. 

Becoming a Christian while an undergraduate at Cambridge, Professor Hutchinson has written and lectured extensively on the relationship between science and the Christian faith for The Veritas Forum at America’s premier universities, has debated leading atheists including Lawrence Krauss, and is the author of the 2011 book Monopolizing Knowledge: A scientist refutes religion-denying reason-destroying scientism.

Professor Hutchinson is an enthusiastic fly-fisherman, squash player, and choral singer. He  lives with his wife Fran (an Australian) in Boston, Massachusetts. 

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