YVES KIMBELE HERI
Researcher · Educator · Lifelong learner
ABOUT / BIOGRAPHY
From electrical engineering to mathematical sciences and plasma physics, my work connects physical questions with computational tools.
I am a PhD researcher in Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences at the University of Michigan, working with Prof. Peng Zhang in the Plasma, Beams, and Interface Science Group.
My academic path has taken me from the University of Lubumbashi to AIMS Rwanda, Michigan State University, and the University of Michigan. Alongside research, I have taught engineering and physics, supervised students, and volunteered in programming and robotics education.
Outside research, I enjoy history and film. I speak English, French, and Swahili.
Meet the research groupRESEARCH INTERESTS
I study short-pulse electron transport in vacuum and plasma, focusing on how space charge drives pulse broadening, energy spread, and phase-space distortion. My interests extend to beam–plasma acceleration in high-energy-density regimes.
I model emission-driven plasma sheaths using fluid and kinetic approaches, including inverse sheath formation and the redistribution of particle fluxes at material interfaces relevant to fusion devices.
I develop and use fluid and kinetic plasma solvers to connect physical models with predictive simulations. My interests include numerical methods and machine learning for reduced-order models of low-temperature and high-energy-density plasmas.
ACADEMIC BACKGROUND
University of Michigan
Plasma, Beams, and Interface Science Group · Advisor: Prof. Peng Zhang
Michigan State University
Graduate research assistant
African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Rwanda
University of Lubumbashi
University of Lubumbashi