Stephen Shankland
@stshank.bsky.social
Head of Content at Commonwealth Fusion Systems, a company commercializing fusion energy: clean, safe, affordable, secure. Former science and technology journalist. Bird nerd. Assigned to the Conehead clique as a teenager.
"How did a baby-faced novice from small-town California dupe some of academia’s brightest minds?"
Because some systems, like academia, operate with greater levels of assumed trust. Trust lowers transaction/relationship costs. Science is about truth, so lying and fakery is deeply counterproductive.
Because some systems, like academia, operate with greater levels of assumed trust. Trust lowers transaction/relationship costs. Science is about truth, so lying and fakery is deeply counterproductive.
An MIT Student Awed Top Economists With His AI Study—Then It All Fell Apart
Aidan Toner-Rodgers shot to academic fame in a field hungry for new insights and revelatory research. But a computer scientist thought something seemed off.
www.wsj.com
November 22, 2025 at 4:13 PM
"How did a baby-faced novice from small-town California dupe some of academia’s brightest minds?"
Because some systems, like academia, operate with greater levels of assumed trust. Trust lowers transaction/relationship costs. Science is about truth, so lying and fakery is deeply counterproductive.
Because some systems, like academia, operate with greater levels of assumed trust. Trust lowers transaction/relationship costs. Science is about truth, so lying and fakery is deeply counterproductive.
Worth a read on standards for measuring AI. I'd like to see how the OpenAI-Microsoft contract defines AGI. www.scientificamerican.com/article/ever...
Each Time AI Gets Smarter, We Change the Definition of Intelligence
As AI systems exceed one benchmark after another, our standards for “humanlike intelligence” keep evolving
www.scientificamerican.com
November 21, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Worth a read on standards for measuring AI. I'd like to see how the OpenAI-Microsoft contract defines AGI. www.scientificamerican.com/article/ever...
Note the creation of the Office of Fusion in the Department of Energy re-org: www.energy.gov/articles/ene...
Energy Department Announces Organizational Realignment to Strengthen Efficiency and Unleash American Energy
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced an organizational realignment designed to strengthen DOE’s ability to execute President Trump’s bold agenda to restore American energy dominance.
www.energy.gov
November 20, 2025 at 8:09 PM
Note the creation of the Office of Fusion in the Department of Energy re-org: www.energy.gov/articles/ene...
The energy on the magnet factory floor is very high, ha ha ha. Here's a toroidal field magnet, all welded into its case, in one of the two cryostats we use to test these magnets to make sure they'll do their job in our SPARC fusion machine.
#FusionEnergy
#Magnets
#FusionEnergy
#Magnets
Through 62 presentations this week, researchers at CFS and our collaborators are shining a physics spotlight on our SPARC fusion demonstration machine — and how it paves the way for our ARC power plant. 1/4
#FusionEnergy
#FusionEnergy
November 19, 2025 at 12:28 AM
The energy on the magnet factory floor is very high, ha ha ha. Here's a toroidal field magnet, all welded into its case, in one of the two cryostats we use to test these magnets to make sure they'll do their job in our SPARC fusion machine.
#FusionEnergy
#Magnets
#FusionEnergy
#Magnets
These lessons from Bob about the path to fusion energy are always instructive.
#FusionEnergy
#FusionEnergy
It’s time to detail the third of the six milestones every company must reach on the way to commercial fusion energy. Our CEO Bob Mumgaard laid these out last year in an open letter — a guide for outside observers to track how well fusion energy companies are doing (cfs.energy/news-and-med...). 1/3
Building Trust in Fusion Energy
The world's largest and leading commercial fusion energy company
cfs.energy
November 14, 2025 at 11:48 PM
These lessons from Bob about the path to fusion energy are always instructive.
#FusionEnergy
#FusionEnergy
I feel a little better knowing that Paul Erdős also got the wrong answer on the Monty Hall problem the first time around. I encountered through a 1991 neural network demonstration at LANL and did not put up a fight when told I was wrong and the neural net wasn't. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_H...
Monty Hall problem - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
November 14, 2025 at 12:40 AM
I feel a little better knowing that Paul Erdős also got the wrong answer on the Monty Hall problem the first time around. I encountered through a 1991 neural network demonstration at LANL and did not put up a fight when told I was wrong and the neural net wasn't. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_H...
Can confirm — the block I hit on X earlier today is gone and I can use it again.
November 13, 2025 at 6:40 AM
Can confirm — the block I hit on X earlier today is gone and I can use it again.
IEA published its World Energy Outlook 2025 today: www.iea.org/reports/worl...
November 13, 2025 at 12:41 AM
IEA published its World Energy Outlook 2025 today: www.iea.org/reports/worl...
Reposted by Stephen Shankland
With a one-time investment of $10 billion, the United States has a chance to reshape its energy future for the better. A few days ago, the @fusionindustry.bsky.social detailed just how the country should put that money to work. 1/6
A one-time $10B injection of U.S. public capital into efforts and partnerships with the fusion industry would accelerate commercial deployment in the U.S… but how should the $10 billion be allocated? In a new one-pager, we break down key line items.⬇️
www.fusionindustryassociation.org/fia-publishe...
www.fusionindustryassociation.org/fia-publishe...
FIA Publishes Paper on $10 Billion for Fusion to Secure America’s Energy and AI Future - Fusion Industry Association
A one-time $10 billion injection of U.S. public capital into efforts and partnerships with the private fusion industry would accelerate the path toward commercialization…but how exactly should this $1...
www.fusionindustryassociation.org
November 12, 2025 at 9:12 PM
With a one-time investment of $10 billion, the United States has a chance to reshape its energy future for the better. A few days ago, the @fusionindustry.bsky.social detailed just how the country should put that money to work. 1/6
Reposted by Stephen Shankland
Submit them to Aurorasaurus!!! They're an NSF funded project out of University of New Mexico that takes crowdsourced aurora observations for research purposes:
www.aurorasaurus.org
www.aurorasaurus.org
Aurorasaurus - Reporting Auroras from the Ground Up
Friends, see my real-time #aurora report on the aurorasaurus.org map! Follow us on www.facebook.com/aurorasaurus.org. Reporting #northernlights and #citizenscience from the ground up since 2012!
www.aurorasaurus.org
November 12, 2025 at 3:25 AM
Submit them to Aurorasaurus!!! They're an NSF funded project out of University of New Mexico that takes crowdsourced aurora observations for research purposes:
www.aurorasaurus.org
www.aurorasaurus.org
Imagine being Thomas Harriot or Galileo Galilei looking through a telescope, seeing the contours of all those craters, and blowing up the idea that the moon was a perfect sphere. (Photo: this morning's gibbous moon.)
History: www.loc.gov/collections/...
#Moon #Astrophotography #Science
History: www.loc.gov/collections/...
#Moon #Astrophotography #Science
November 9, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Imagine being Thomas Harriot or Galileo Galilei looking through a telescope, seeing the contours of all those craters, and blowing up the idea that the moon was a perfect sphere. (Photo: this morning's gibbous moon.)
History: www.loc.gov/collections/...
#Moon #Astrophotography #Science
History: www.loc.gov/collections/...
#Moon #Astrophotography #Science
Reposted by Stephen Shankland
Data is good. Publishing it is good. This paper from Sam Wurzel and Scot Hsu is a peer-reviewed scorecard that lets us all track the concrete progress on our commercialization milestones — the solid foundation that builds trust in the fusion energy industry. 1/3
#FusionEnergy
#FusionEnergy
November 7, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Data is good. Publishing it is good. This paper from Sam Wurzel and Scot Hsu is a peer-reviewed scorecard that lets us all track the concrete progress on our commercialization milestones — the solid foundation that builds trust in the fusion energy industry. 1/3
#FusionEnergy
#FusionEnergy
It appears I've lost my style battle to get people to capitalize the E in EVTOL. I mostly see it written "eVTOL." (It stands for electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, and I think the lowercase E is a silly exception to capitalization rules that are messy enough already.)
#PedantsCorner
#PedantsCorner
November 6, 2025 at 2:59 PM
It appears I've lost my style battle to get people to capitalize the E in EVTOL. I mostly see it written "eVTOL." (It stands for electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, and I think the lowercase E is a silly exception to capitalization rules that are messy enough already.)
#PedantsCorner
#PedantsCorner
Tonight's full moon. It was cloudy all day but cleared up at sunset. I shot this pointing the camera nearly straight up, which means minimal atmospheric interference.
#Photography
#Photography
November 6, 2025 at 7:08 AM
Tonight's full moon. It was cloudy all day but cleared up at sunset. I shot this pointing the camera nearly straight up, which means minimal atmospheric interference.
#Photography
#Photography
1500-foot lava fountains! At Kilauea in Hawaii. www.bigislandvideonews.com/2025/11/05/k...
Kīlauea Volcano Eruption Update for Wednesday, November 5
HAWAIʻI VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK - High fountaining is most likely to begin in the next few days, as lava overflows at summit vents increase in vigor.
www.bigislandvideonews.com
November 6, 2025 at 5:43 AM
1500-foot lava fountains! At Kilauea in Hawaii. www.bigislandvideonews.com/2025/11/05/k...
Note how the wings droop when the plane lands and there's no more aerodynamic lift.
This was a really impressive aircraft to see in person. It's bonkers when the nose cone hinges up for cargo loading and unloading.
This was a really impressive aircraft to see in person. It's bonkers when the nose cone hinges up for cargo loading and unloading.
To get the first half of our vacuum vessel from Italy to the USA, we flew it on an Antonov An-124 Ruslan aircraft, an unusual 4-engine cargo plane with room for the 48-ton component. Unlike passenger planes, the nose of the An-124 hinges upward to load and unload cargo.
#FusionEnergy #PlaneSpotting
#FusionEnergy #PlaneSpotting
November 5, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Note how the wings droop when the plane lands and there's no more aerodynamic lift.
This was a really impressive aircraft to see in person. It's bonkers when the nose cone hinges up for cargo loading and unloading.
This was a really impressive aircraft to see in person. It's bonkers when the nose cone hinges up for cargo loading and unloading.
A Cooper's hawk apparently learned to time its attacks on prey (smaller birds) by recognizing a crosswalk signal would mean cars would move, making it harder for that prey to detect its own motion. www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a...
A Young Cooper's Hawk Learned to Use a Crosswalk Signal to Launch Surprise Attacks on Other Birds
Researcher Vladimir Dinets watched the bird repeatedly sneak behind a row of cars to ambush its unsuspecting prey
www.smithsonianmag.com
November 4, 2025 at 12:41 PM
A Cooper's hawk apparently learned to time its attacks on prey (smaller birds) by recognizing a crosswalk signal would mean cars would move, making it harder for that prey to detect its own motion. www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a...
"Attracting a data center to a coal plant could be a tough sell, though the infrastructure that connects to the power grid is valuable. Former coal plants have been converted to gas, solar or battery projects or could be tapped by data centers." www.wsj.com/business/ene...
$615,000 a Day: Order to Keep Coal Plant Open Ignites Debate in Michigan
Some consider the lakeside power station a dinosaur, while others are hoping to attract a data center.
www.wsj.com
November 3, 2025 at 6:25 PM
"Attracting a data center to a coal plant could be a tough sell, though the infrastructure that connects to the power grid is valuable. Former coal plants have been converted to gas, solar or battery projects or could be tapped by data centers." www.wsj.com/business/ene...
Reposted by Stephen Shankland
Bipartisan, now bicameral! ⚡️Senators John Curtis and Maria Cantwell introduced the Senate companion to the Fusion Advanced Manufacturing Parity Act - extending the 45X tax credit to fusion to ensure parity with other advanced energy technologies.
www.fusionindustryassociation.org/fusion-advan...
www.fusionindustryassociation.org/fusion-advan...
Fusion Advanced Manufacturing Parity Act Introduced in U.S. Congress - Fusion Industry Association
On September 17, U.S. Representatives Carol Miller (R-W.V.), Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.), and Don Beyer (D-Va.), introduced the bipartisan Fusion Advanced Manufacturing Parity Act...
www.fusionindustryassociation.org
October 31, 2025 at 9:35 PM
Bipartisan, now bicameral! ⚡️Senators John Curtis and Maria Cantwell introduced the Senate companion to the Fusion Advanced Manufacturing Parity Act - extending the 45X tax credit to fusion to ensure parity with other advanced energy technologies.
www.fusionindustryassociation.org/fusion-advan...
www.fusionindustryassociation.org/fusion-advan...
• "Dislike" feature (beta test) could be useful as implemented.
• "Improved toxicity detection" is likely implementation dependent but I like the direction.
• "Reply context" seems really good to me — I want that context when replying and sometimes have to open a new tab to check.
• "Improved toxicity detection" is likely implementation dependent but I like the direction.
• "Reply context" seems really good to me — I want that context when replying and sometimes have to open a new tab to check.
Threads on Bluesky should feel more like conversations you’d have IRL.
We’re testing new systems to improve reply quality. See what’s coming: bsky.social/about/blog/1...
We’re testing new systems to improve reply quality. See what’s coming: bsky.social/about/blog/1...
Progress Update: Building Healthier Social Media - Bluesky
Over the next few months, we’ll be iterating on the systems that make Bluesky a better place for healthy conversations. Some experiments will stick, others will evolve, and we’ll share what we learn a...
bsky.social
October 31, 2025 at 10:54 PM
• "Dislike" feature (beta test) could be useful as implemented.
• "Improved toxicity detection" is likely implementation dependent but I like the direction.
• "Reply context" seems really good to me — I want that context when replying and sometimes have to open a new tab to check.
• "Improved toxicity detection" is likely implementation dependent but I like the direction.
• "Reply context" seems really good to me — I want that context when replying and sometimes have to open a new tab to check.
One core enabling technology at @cfs.energy is high-temperature superconductors (HTS). Working at warmer temperatures is nice, but their real advantage for fusion energy is enabling much higher currents and working at much higher magnetic fields. That means stronger, more compact magnets.
October 31, 2025 at 3:51 PM
One core enabling technology at @cfs.energy is high-temperature superconductors (HTS). Working at warmer temperatures is nice, but their real advantage for fusion energy is enabling much higher currents and working at much higher magnetic fields. That means stronger, more compact magnets.
Here is some literal new shiny.
Our SPARC tokamak's donut-shaped vacuum vessel will hold the superhot plasma for fusion. Here's how we got the first half of the vessel to our HQ. This was a design, engineering, fabrication, and transportation feat.
Our SPARC tokamak's donut-shaped vacuum vessel will hold the superhot plasma for fusion. Here's how we got the first half of the vessel to our HQ. This was a design, engineering, fabrication, and transportation feat.
2/2 Its smooth journey from Italy to our headquarters over the course of a few days required a lot of moving parts — multiple teams, different cranes, one big plane, and two big trucks. This inside look shows the planning and execution behind the whole operation.
How we got a 48-ton piece of fusion hardware across the Atlantic
YouTube video by Commonwealth Fusion Systems
www.youtube.com
October 30, 2025 at 4:38 PM
Here is some literal new shiny.
Our SPARC tokamak's donut-shaped vacuum vessel will hold the superhot plasma for fusion. Here's how we got the first half of the vessel to our HQ. This was a design, engineering, fabrication, and transportation feat.
Our SPARC tokamak's donut-shaped vacuum vessel will hold the superhot plasma for fusion. Here's how we got the first half of the vessel to our HQ. This was a design, engineering, fabrication, and transportation feat.
Hustle and bustle! When I joined CFS in 2024, this room was empty. Now SPARC is coming together: we have the cryostat base (the tokamak's foundation), two big orange stands for TF magnets, and now the first half of our vacuum vessel.
#FusionEnergy
#FusionEnergy
Big update: Half of our vacuum vessel, the very heart of our SPARC fusion machine, has landed in Devens, Massachusetts.
#PowerMoves
#PowerMoves
October 28, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Hustle and bustle! When I joined CFS in 2024, this room was empty. Now SPARC is coming together: we have the cryostat base (the tokamak's foundation), two big orange stands for TF magnets, and now the first half of our vacuum vessel.
#FusionEnergy
#FusionEnergy
Banana slug celebrating the fall foliage. Uvas Creek County Park south of San Jose.
#NaturePhotography #Slug #Autumn
#NaturePhotography #Slug #Autumn
October 28, 2025 at 3:29 AM
Banana slug celebrating the fall foliage. Uvas Creek County Park south of San Jose.
#NaturePhotography #Slug #Autumn
#NaturePhotography #Slug #Autumn