I have too many ideas for a lifetime.
Taylor Ramon Wilson is an American nuclear physics enthusiast and science advocate. In 2008, at the age of 14, he produced nuclear fusion using a fusor, making him the second youngest person ever to do so.
Personal life and education
Taylor Wilson was born in 1994 in Texarkana, Arkansas to Kenneth and Tiffany Wilson. His father is the owner of a Coca-Cola bottling plant, and his mother was a Yoga instructor. Wilson was initially interested in rocketry and space science, before entering the field of nuclear science at age 10. He had a lot of support from his parents. During high school Wilson attended both the Davidson Academy of Nevada and the University of Nevada, Reno where he was given a laboratory to conduct his fusion research. He resides in Reno, Nevada.
Twenty questions, eight minutes on the clock, and a percentile measured against everyone who has taken it. No sign-up.
Take the IQ test →In June 2012, Wilson was awarded a Thiel Fellowship. The two-year $100,000 fellowship requires recipients to forgo college for the duration of the fellowship. In 2017, Wilson was named a member of the Helena Group, an "elite and edgy" think tank of global leaders focused on executing projects that improve the world.
Scientific projects
Fusion reactor
In 2008, Wilson achieved nuclear fusion using an inertial electrostatic confinement IEC device, which was a variation of the fusor, invented by Philo T. Farnsworth in 1964. He used the flux of neutrons from a deuterium-deuterium fusion reaction to conduct nuclear experiments, and studied novel fusion fuels inside the IEC device. In March 2012, Wilson spoke at a TED conference regarding the building of his fusion reactor. Along with the IEC reactors, Wilson has conducted fusion research using dense plasma focus devices. He also constructed and developed nuclear diagnostics for basic fusion research.
Nuclear detection
In May 2010, Wilson entered the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in San Jose, California, and won several awards for his project titled "Fission Vision: The Detection of Prompt and Delayed Induced Fission Gamma Radiation, and the Application to the Detection of Proliferated Nuclear Materials."
In May 2011, Wilson entered his radiation detector in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Los Angeles, California, against a field of 1,500 competitors and won a US$50,000 award. The project, “Countering Nuclear Terrorism: Novel Active and Passive Techniques for Detecting Nuclear Threats”, won the First Place Award in the Physics and Astronomy Category, Best of Category Award, and the Intel Young Scientist Award. Wilson stated he hopes to test and rapidly field the devices to US ports for counterterrorism purposes.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Department of Energy offered federal funding to Wilson concerning research Wilson has conducted in building inexpensive Cherenkov radiation detectors.
Fission reactor
On February 27, 2013 at TED 2013, Wilson presented his ideas on the benefits of building small underground nuclear fission reactors that are self-contained and use down-blended uranium and plutonium from decommissioned nuclear weapons as fuel. He temporarily left his research on the fusion reactor and designed a variation of a compact molten salt reactor that he says would supply about 50 MW and would need refueling only once every 30 years. According to Wilson, because much of the reactor would be buried and its uranium would not be weapons-grade, it is less vulnerable either to terrorist attack or misuse.
In an article in Power Engineering, Wilson states:
Top questions
Who is Taylor Wilson?
Taylor Wilson is an American nuclear physicist and science advocate who achieved controlled nuclear fusion in 2008, when he was 14 years old. He has designed a compact radiation detector to enhance airport security, and he works to expand applications for nuclear medicine and to develop modular power reactor technology.
How did Taylor Wilson achieve nuclear fusion at age 14?
In 2008 Wilson achieved nuclear fusion that generated a temperature forty times as hot as the sun, using an inertial electrostatic confinement device. The device was a variation of the fusor invented by Philo T. Farnsworth in 1964. Wilson entered nuclear science at age 10, after an early interest in rocketry and space science.
What did Taylor Wilson win at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair?
In May 2011 he entered a radiation detector project, titled Countering Nuclear Terrorism, against a field of 1,500 competitors and won a US$50,000 award, along with the First Place Award in Physics and Astronomy, Best of Category and the Intel Young Scientist Award. In May 2010 he had already won several awards at the fair in San Jose.
What is the Thiel Fellowship that Taylor Wilson received?
Wilson was awarded a Thiel Fellowship in June 2012, a two-year, $100,000 fellowship that requires recipients to forgo college for its duration. In 2017 he was also named a member of the Helena Group, a think tank focused on executing projects that improve the world.
What did Taylor Wilson propose in his TED talk?
On 27 February 2013 at TED 2013, Wilson presented his ideas on the benefits of building small underground nuclear fission reactors that are self-contained and use down-blended uranium and plutonium from decommissioned nuclear weapons as fuel.
What has Taylor Wilson done in radiation detection?
He designed a compact radiation detector to enhance airport security. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Energy offered federal funding for his research into building inexpensive Cherenkov radiation detectors, and he has said he hopes to test and rapidly field the devices at US ports for counterterrorism purposes.
Is there a book about Taylor Wilson?
Yes. He is the subject of the biography The Boy Who Played with Fusion, written by Tom Clynes and published in 2015. The film rights to the book have been optioned by 20th Century Fox.
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