| Abstract: Plasma turbulence, magnetic reconnection, and particle acceleration underpin and drive a multitude of plasma phenomena across a wide spectrum of environments. It comes as no surprise therefore that they constitute three vibrant research areas at the frontier of modern astrophysics. Originally, these three paradigms were treated as distinct plasma processes. However, with the rapid advances in computing, observations and theory, they are converging towards an interconnected and entangled domain. This ongoing progress holds the potential for solving long-standing problems in several areas of plasma astrophysics ranging from the thermal disequilibration of ions and electrons in collisionless accretion flows to the genesis of the most energetic particles in the Universe. In this talk, using a powerful combination of first-principles plasma kinetic simulations and analytical modeling, I will highlight novel insights arising from my research in plasma self-organization regulated by the mutual interplay of turbulence and magnetic reconnection, and the underlying physical principles that link these processes to the acceleration of particles to high energies. |