Michael G. Anderson

Dr. Michael G. Anderson is a pulsed-power physicist and engineering leader at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), where he serves as the National Security Engineering Division’s lead for pulsed-power science. His team invents and scales next-generation drivers that compress vast electrical energy into precisely shaped, ultra-short pulses for fusion energy research, high-energy-density physics, and national security applications.

Innovation in Pulsed Power: The Impedance-Matched Marx Generator

In LLNL’s Science & Technology Review, Anderson describes how the lab’s new impedance-matched Marx generator (IMG) architecture simplifies traditional Marx designs while boosting efficiency and safety. This technology, first demonstrated in the four-stage “Sirius I” prototype, is being scaled toward larger systems capable of powering future accelerators.

The WARP Reactor Concept

Anderson is best known for proposing the Wave Accelerated Ring Pinch—or “WARP”—Reactor, a compact, modular pulsed-power–driven radiation source. Introduced in a 2023 LLNL-authored preprint, the WARP Reactor aims to deliver orders-of-magnitude increases in ultra-intense ion-beam energies and radiation yields compared to existing z-pinch–class accelerators, but at a fraction of their size and cost.

The concept opens a path to economically study new Relativistic High Energy Density (RHED) regimes while enabling practical applications ranging from rep-rated Magnetized Liner Inertial Fusion (MagLIF) and advanced propulsion to compact, multi-pulse flash x-ray and neutron radiography.

From Concept to Experiment: WARP-X

The WARP effort has moved beyond paper studies. Anderson and collaborators have outlined a “WARP-X” (Wave Accelerated Ring Pinch eXperiment) 1/10-scale machine and filed a U.S. provisional patent application in 2023: “Pulsed Power-Driven Radiation Source System and Method Using a Wave Accelerated Ring Pinch: The WARP Reactor.”

The technical roadmap includes staged operation phases—from dense-plasma-focus jet formation through ring pinch and relativistic ion-ring acceleration—culminating in GeV-class ion-ring energies for the full reactor.

Career in Pulsed Power and Fusion Physics

Anderson’s broader LLNL portfolio highlights his focus on building advanced drivers for extreme physics. His group’s interests span relativistic plasmas, charged-particle beams for fusion energy, EMP/lightning environments, and combined radiation-effects testing.

Earlier in his career, Anderson contributed to foundational plasma-beam and compact toroidal physics. Publications include:

  • Intense plasma/ion-beam propagation across magnetic fields (2005)

  • Multi-pulsed inductive plasma sources (2005)

  • High-current plasma and ion beams in transverse fields (2006, PhD-level research)

  • Formation of hot field-reversed configurations by supersonic merging of compact tori (Physical Review Letters, 2010)

  • Colliding Tori Fusion Reactor concept (2012 IEEE International Power Modulator Conference)

Engineering Leadership on Large-Scale Pulsed Power

Outside academic publications, Anderson is recognized for decades of design and leadership on terawatt-class, multi-megampere pulsed-power systems. His work includes:

  • MJ-class, multi-MA dense-plasma-focus systems (“MJOLNIR” and “NDSE”)

  • FXR Test Stand for high-voltage transmission design

  • Numerous defense, R&D, and commercial pulsed-power installations

Selected Achievements & Milestones

  • Lead for Pulsed-Power Science (LLNL NSED) – spearheading the invention, prototyping, and validation of the IMG architecture (Sirius I and beyond).

  • Originator of the WARP Reactor – modular pulsed-power–driven radiation/fusion concept; includes the WARP-X experiment and a 2023 U.S. provisional patent.

  • Engineering Leader – 20+ years on MJ-class, TW-level pulsed-power systems across defense, fusion, and radiography missions.

  • Published Author – contributions in beam dynamics, compact toroidal fusion, inductive plasma sources, and relativistic plasmas.