Jeff Whalen
Magnetics Corporation
Founder and Director
Jeff Whalen is the Founder and Director of MagCorp, a magnetics solutions company that connects businesses with the world’s premier magnet experts at The National High Magnetic Field Lab at Florida State University to provide magnetically enabled solutions to market-driven problems. Jeff was a Research Faculty member at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory from 2012 to 2019, where he led a successful materials science and electromagnet systems research group, until he joined FSU’s Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship as the STEM Entrepreneur in Residence from 2019 to 2023, and then later returned to The National High Magnetic Field Lab, where is currently the Director of The Rare Earth Initiative Project. Jeff has a PhD in chemistry and has extensive experience in venture creation, having started and operated multiple STEM- enabled companies over his 20-year entrepreneurial journey.
Presentations
How high-temperature superconducting magnets could unlock the energy source of the future
Since the fusion ignition breakthrough at the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory in late 2022,
billions of dollars have been funneled into achieving commercial fusion energy at scale and international
sprint has ensued to be the first company to achieve it. As a clean, limitless energy source, fusion could
solve the world’s energy problems and make today's climate change debate moot. Yet, to achieve
commercial fusion energy at scale, the world needs more of a critical component that is in short supply -
high temperature superconducting (HTS) magnetic wire. HTS magnetic tape is the only material that can
generate a strong enough magnetic field to achieve fusion energy in a device that is substantially smaller
than alternative technologies. This keynote talk will cover how the latest advancements in HTS magnets
are impacting the race for fusion energy and how one community aims to create an ecosystem to
support technological advancements in HTS magnets.
Keynote: Magnet supply chain resiliency and transparency
Moderator: Jeff Whalen, Founder & Director, MagCorp
Panelists:
Chris Rainone, Global Supply Chain SME for Critical Materials & Supply Chain, Lockheed Martin
David Miller, President, Magnetic Instrumentation
Helena Khazdozian, Senior Technology Manager, Advanced Materials & Manufacturing Technologies Office, U.S. Department of Energy