MIFTI (Magneto-Inertial Fusion Technologies)

Southern California pulsed-power venture founded by UC Riverside plasma physicist Hafiz Rahman with Jerry Simmons. MIFTI uses intense electrical pulses to drive a 'staged Z-pinch' — a magnetic field that crushes a liner around fusion fuel — pursuing applications from grid power to medical isotope production.

Skip lasers and superconducting magnets entirely; pulsed-power compression is the cheapest path to fusion neutrons.

• Z-pinch stability against Rayleigh-Taylor and m=0 modes
• Repetition rate and electrode survival

1. 2019

   DOE ARPA-E ALPHA program participant

2. 2023

   Reported neutron yield gains in staged Z-pinch shots