An awe-inspiring science project by a Dallas ISD seventh-grader is now drawing national attention, as the student works to secure a Guinness World Record as the youngest person to achieve nuclear fusion.
Aiden McMillan’s work has helped inspire Launchpad, a nonprofit makerspace for students housed inside an unassuming brick building in West Dallas. The space was created in part to support ambitious projects like McMillan’s — a nuclear fusion machine he began building at just 8 years old.
McMillan spent two years studying concepts of nuclear physics before he ever started assembling early prototypes of the machine. What followed was a long process filled with trial and error, persistence and problem-solving.
“I mean, I loved the project, but I also kinda hated it,” McMillan said.
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Aiden McMillan discussing fusion project.
McMillan said the project was driven purely by curiosity and interest, not by personal gain.
“It doesn’t make me jump higher. It doesn’t make me write faster. It doesn’t do anything for me, and to be honest, it’s really just a project of interest, but in the grand scheme of things, like fusion as a whole, in my opinion, is the energy of the future,” McMillan said.
The building process stretched over two years and raised concerns at home, particularly about safety.
“There were some alarm bells with my mom, yes, she was like, ‘ Whoa, whoa, whoa, take a step back, tell me exactly what could go wrong, and how it could go wrong and make sure it doesn’t go wrong,'” McMillan said.
After four years of work, McMillan reached a milestone few ever achieve — successfully producing nuclear fusion at the age of 12.
“We got neutrons, yeah!” McMillan said. “Kind of tearing up about it cause it was like, hard to describe. It was like the end of a long, long journey.”
For McMillan, the achievement marks not just the end of one journey, but the beginning of what could be a promising future in science and innovation.