Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory Honors Three Researchers

Plainsboro, New Jersey — The U.S. Department of Energy's Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) honored three researchers — Hantao Ji, Stan Kaye, and Doug Loesser — during a ceremony at the Laboratory on Friday, March 20. Ji, a physicist, received the PPPL Distinguished Research Fellow award; Kaye, a physicist, received the Kaul Prize for Excellence in Plasma Physics Research and Technology Development; and Loesser, an engineer, received the PPPL Distinguished Engineering Fellow award.

Kaul Prize Recipient
Kaye
Kaye, the Deputy Program Director of the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX), was honored for his investigations of electron and ion energy transport, and for facilitating the analysis of a particular type of turbulence, in NSTX. NSTX is a fusion energy experiment at PPPL.

Years ago, Stan Kaye looked at data from the world's tokamaks, recognized previously unknown trends, and expressed these trends as scaling laws that made sense of the world's data base and guided future experiments. More recently, Stan has led analysis of experimental data that uncovered key features of the some of the major puzzles of how turbulence causes plasma energy to escape across the magnetic cage. We are fortunate to have him in the leadership of the Lab's major experiment, NSTX, said PPPL Director Stewart Prager. Plasma is a hot, gaseous state of matter used as the fuel to produce fusion energy — the power source of the sun and the stars. Tokamaks and spherical torii are configurations of fusion experiments.

Kaye received a bachelor's degree in physics and mathematics from Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y., in 1974 and a Ph.D. in space plasma physics from UCLA in 1979. He joined the research staff at PPPL in 1980. He has published more than 200 papers in journals and conference proceedings, with over 25 as the first author, and he has given invited talks at many international and national conferences. Kaye is presently Chair of the Transport and Confinement International Tokamak Physics Activity and is Deputy Chair of the U.S. Transport Task Force. He lives in West Windsor, N.J.

Princeton University awards the Kaul Prize to recognize a recent outstanding technical achievement in plasma physics or technology development by a full-time, regular employee of PPPL. It includes a cash award of $5,000. Nominations for the award are submitted to the Prize Selection Committee, which includes the Princeton University Provost, the Chair of the Princeton University Research Board, the PPPL Director, PPPL Deputy Director, and PPPL Chief Scientist. This is the ninth time the prize has been given.

Former PPPL Director Ronald C. Davidson endowed the Kaul Prize by giving to Princeton University a portion of the gift he received as the 1993 recipient of the Award for Excellence in Science, Education, and Physics from the Kaul Foundation.

PPPL Distinguished Fellows
Ji
Ji was honored for his pioneering research in magnetic reconnection in plasmas and for his leadership in exploring the magnetorotational instability. Magnetic reconnection is the breaking and topological rearrangement of magnetic field lines in a plasma. It is one of the most fundamental processes of plasma physics and has important relevance to fusion research, as well as to the physics of the earth's magnetosphere and solar flares. Magnetorotational instability research studies conditions and the matter collection process in star and planet formation.

Hantao Ji's research has penetrated the mysteries of magnetic reconnection: the process that underlies magnetic field behavior from solar flares to fusion plasmas. His recent lab experiments have provided key information on how matter falls towards black holes. Through his seminal research, he has been an international leader in growing the field of laboratory plasma astrophysics — understanding processes that occur in astrophysical plasmas through basic laboratory investigations, Director Prager said.

Ji received a bachelor's degree in physics from Ehime University in Japan in 1985 and a doctor of science degree in physics from the University of Tokyo in 1990. He conducted plasma physics research at the National Institution for Fusion Sciences in Japan and at the University of Wisconsin-Madison before coming to PPPL. Since 1995, he has been conducting research on the Magnetic Reconnection Experiment and in 2001 began working on the Magnetorotational Instability (MRI) experiment. Ji has published many papers on laboratory studies of basic physics phenomena observed in space, astrophysical, and fusion plasmas. He won the APS 2002 Award for Excellence in Plasma Physics Research, a Department of Energy Outstanding Mentor Award in 2002 and the Kaul Award for Excellence in Plasma Physics Research and Technology from Princeton University in 2003. Ji is an APS Fellow and currently the Chair of the APS Topical Group of Plasma Astrophysics. He is also a member of the American Geophysical Union, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Japan Society of Plasma Science and Nuclear Fusion Research. He is a resident of Plainsboro Township.

Loesser
Loesser was cited for the excellence of his engineering contributions and technical leadership in the area of in-vessel technology for fusion research for many of the major experimental fusion devices, including the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR), which operated at PPPL from 1982–1997, the Joint European Torus in the U.K., NSTX, Alcator C-Mod at MIT, and ITER, the international fusion experiment being built in France.

In addition to his contributions to TFTR and NSTX, Doug has, for many years, been intimately involved in the design of ITER. This has included an extended relocation to Germany to support the earlier ITER Conceptual Design Activity. During this time, Doug has become internationally known for his knowledge and contribution to the development of in-vessel technologies, especially plasma facing components and blankets. In recognition of his achievements, Doug was recently identified to lead the ITER Product Team for Blanket Modules. Being chosen as a PPPL Distinguished Engineering Fellow is certainly another well-deserved recognition, said Michael Williams, Associate Laboratory Director for Engineering and Infrastructure at PPPL.

Loesser's PPPL career in engineering fusion-related components spans 30 years. His principal interests include metrology, remote handling and the design of first-wall components. He has been involved with the design of most reactor components, including the vacuum vessel, coils, heating systems, and diagnostics. He received a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Trenton State College (now The College of New Jersey) in 1980 and has authored more than 24 publications. He lives in Chesterfield, N.J.

The Distinguished Research and Engineering Fellow Program, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, was created to recognize members of the Laboratory's research staff, as well as engineering and scientific staff, for their accomplishments. Fellows receive one-time gifts of $5,000 and qualify for priority in regard to their research and engineering programs.

PPPL, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and managed by Princeton University, is a collaborative national center for science and innovation leading to an attractive fusion energy source. Fusion is the process that powers the sun and the stars. In the interior of stars, matter is converted into energy by the fusion, or joining, of the nuclei of light atoms to form heavier elements. At PPPL, physicists use a magnetic field to confine plasma. Scientists hope eventually to use fusion energy for the generation of electricity. http://www.pppl.gov/

Download print images: H. Ji S. Kaye D. Loesser

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For further information, please contact:
Anthony R. DeMeo Head, Information Services Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (609) 243-2755 ademeo@pppl.gov	Patricia Wieser Information Officer Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (609) 243-2757 pwieser@pppl.gov