Biography
Dr. Joseph (Joe) Talmadge has been a foundational figure in stellarator research for over four decades. After earning his B.S. in Applied Physics from Columbia University (1974) and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1982) under J.L. Shohet and S. Prager, he began his career researching the Proto-Cleo stellarator. As a co-founder of the Helically Symmetric Experiment, Dr. Talmadge helped design and build the device “from the ground up”. Until his departure from HSX in 2023, his research included electron beam magnetic mapping, heat transport modeling, as well as studies of plasma flow and radial electric fields. Beyond his technical achievements, he mentored generations of plasma physics students, leaving a lasting legacy on the fusion community.