OCNI/UNENE CFE Fusion Lecture Series: Measuring the Fusion Plasma
November 9 @ 10:00 am – 11:00 am UTC
An Introduction to Plasma Diagnostics and Their Role in the Development of Fusion Energy
The Centre for Fusion Energy (CFE), Canada’s national collaboration platform for fusion, continues its lecture series with a look at one of the field’s most essential and least visible technologies: plasma diagnostics.
Fusion technology is rapidly accelerating. In 2028, Commonwealth Fusion Systems targets net energy production from the plasma, the coveted Q>1 milestone. Several fusion companies have produced practical reactor design targeting completion in the mid-2030s. Yet, that development toward fusion power depends on knowing exactly how plasmas in prototypes are behaving: their temperature, density, confinement, and stability. Plasma diagnostics are the measurement systems that determine what the plasma is actually doing.
This lecture introduces the major families of plasma diagnostics: how they work, what they measure, and how they guide fusion development from early experiments to demonstration devices and power plants. It also looks at how diagnostics are changing as fusion moves from R&D in the public sector to R&D in the private sector. Bespoke research instruments are becoming standardized, reliable systems, which creates an opportunity for Canada’s fusion supply chain.
About the speaker
Henry Gould is the Founder and CEO of Daedal Systems Inc. A Queen’s Engineering Physics graduate, Henry spent his early career at General Fusion developing plasma diagnostics, including soft X-ray detectors and microwave systems for temperature and density measurements. He later led the diagnostic suite on Plasma Injector 3 as Technical Project Manager.
Henry founded Daedal after noticing that every fusion company builds the same diagnostics in-house, even though they aren’t core IP. Based in Toronto, Daedal is building measurement infrastructure for the fusion industry: hardware and software systems that can be deployed on any fusion machine. In July 2026, Daedal closed a $5.7M CAD pre-seed round led by OMERS Ventures.
Event Details
Date: November 9, 2026
Time: 10 am- 11 am ET