Theo Brown

Using machine learning to design fusion power plants

We say that we will put the sun in a box. The idea is pretty. The problem is, we don’t know how to make the box.

– Pierre Gilles de Gennes

About me

I’m a first year PhD student at the University College London, supervised by Ilija Bogunovic.

My project is jointly supported by the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), a government research institute seeking to lead the delivery of sustainable fusion energy, where I am a visiting researcher.

I work closely with the UKAEA integrated modelling group, designing scenarios for the UK’s proposed next-generation fusion reactor.

Research

Fusion power could be the biggest game-changer in history; to achieve it, we need advanced control systems and highly optimised designs.

My research connects ideas from control, optimisation, Bayesian statistics, and plasma physics in order to tackle the hardest engineering challenge humanity has ever faced.

Buzzwords that get me excited include:

  • Probabilistic machine learning
  • Verifiably robust and safe algorithms for critical systems
  • Trajectory planning and controller design
  • Adaptive and learning-based control
  • Physics-informed machine learning
  • Bayesian optimisation

Education

PhD, Machine Learning
University College London | Sep 2023 - present

MEng, Information and Control Engineering
University of Cambridge | Sep 2016 - Jul 2023
Thesis: Reinforcement learning and Bayesian optimisation for tokamak plasma control

Publications

Sample-efficient Bayesian optimisation using known invariances
Theodore Brown, Alexandru Cioba & Ilija Bogunovic
NeurIPS 2024
paper code slides bibtex
Multi-objective Bayesian optimization for design of Pareto-optimal current drive profiles in STEP
Theodore Brown, Stephen Marsden, Vignesh Gopakumar, Alexander Terenin, Hong Ge & Francis Casson
IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science 2024
paper code bibtex
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Hobbies

I’m often found in the garage doing woodwork or outside looking after my garden. I also love hiking, jazz, classic novels, korfball, and board games.

I’m a passionate advocate for wider recognition and research concerning the long-term impacts of mild traumatic brain injury.