John studied the effects of quasisymmetry on particle and heat transport in HSX. He did this by measuring the plasma density and temperature profiles using a Thomson scattering system. He also performed extensive three-dimensional modeling of the neutral gas in HSX plasma, which has yielded the particle source rate and neutral density.
John received his PhD in Spring of 2007 and went to work at Oak Ridge National Laboratory under a prestigious Wigner Fellowship. John then headed the ORNL plasma physics theory group.