In 2009, Michael Fitzgerald earned his Ph.D. in plasma physics from the University of Sydney, focusing on visible spectroscopy and kinetic simulation of partially ionized discharges. From 2010 to 2013, he conducted postdoctoral research at the Australian National University (ANU), concentrating on the study of fast particle modifications to equilibrium and stability in high beta spherical tokamaks.
In 2013, Fitzgerald joined the UK Atomic Energy Authority as a physicist specializing in the burning plasma physics of future nuclear fusion reactors. In this role, he led experiments to investigate alpha particle physics on the Joint European Torus (JET) and applied the findings to future tokamaks. Michael is also a director of the Culham Plasma Physics Summer School.