A Collaborative National Center for Fusion & Plasma Research

ITER

ITER is a large international fusion experiment aimed at demonstrating the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion energy.

ITER (Latin for "the way") will play a critical role advancing the worldwide availability of energy from fusion — the power source of the sun and the stars.

To produce practical amounts of fusion power on earth, heavy forms of hydrogen are joined together at high temperature with an accompanying production of heat energy. The fuel must be held at a temperature of over 100 million degrees Celsius. At these high temperatures, the electrons are detached from the nuclei of the atoms, in a state of matter called plasma.

Unique PPPL-led workshop assesses research crucial to the success of ITER

Leading experts from around the world gathered at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) in July to focus on a key issue for the development of fusion energy: Improving ways to predict and mitigate disruptions that can destroy magnetically confined plasmas that are needed for fusion reactions.

PPPL's Rich Hawryluk recognized for service to ITER international fusion project

Receives U.S. Secretary of Energy's Appreciation Award

PPPL's Rich Hawryluk recognized for service to ITER international fusion project

Rich Hawryluk served as Deputy Director-General for the ITER Organization and Director of the ITER Administration Department. ITER is an international fusion experiment that is under construction in France. Hawryluk, a former deputy director of PPPL, completed a two-year assignment at ITER in April, 2013.

Fusion through the eyes of a veteran science journalist

Author Daniel Clery recently published “A Piece of the Sun,” a 320-page narrative of the history of fusion research and the personalities who have devoted their careers to it. Clery is a United Kingdom-based reporter for Science magazine who holds a bachelor’s degree in theoretical physics from York University and has covered fusion for more than a decade. While hardly an uncritical flag-waver for fusion, he recognizes its vast potential. He discussed his new book and the future of fusion with PPPL Science Writer John Greenwald.

PPPL honors physicists Steven Sabbagh and Gregory Hammett

PPPL presented its 2013 outstanding research awards to physicists Steven Sabbagh and Gregory Hammett following Director Stewart Prager’s May 28 State-of-the-Laboratory Address. Sabbagh received the Kaul Foundation Prize for Excellence in Plasma Physics Research and Technology Development for his work on advancing the understanding, and enhancing the stability, of high-performance plasmas in fusion facilities called tokamaks. Hammett was named winner of the Distinguished Research Fellow Award for his work on deepening the theoretical understanding of turbulence in fusion plasmas.

PPPL honors physicists Steven Sabbagh and Gregory Hammett

PPPL and ITER: Lab teams support the world’s largest fusion experiment with leading-edge ideas and design

PPPL engineer named winner of the 2013 Fusion Technology Award

Philip Heitzenroeder, who leads the Mechanical Engineering Division at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) and whose advice is sought by engineers around the world, has won the 2013 Fusion Technology Award.

Phil Heitzenroeder named winner of the 2013 Fusion Technology Award

Phil Heitzenroeder, who leads the Mechanical Engineering Division at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) and whose advice is sought by engineers around the world, has won the 2013 Fusion Technology Award. The high honor from the Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) recognizes outstanding contributions to research and development in the field of fusion technology.

Rich Hawryluk recalls “exciting and challenging” years working on ITER

What is it like to be at the center of ITER, the huge international fusion experiment that is under construction in Cadarache, France? “It’s both exciting and challenging,” said physicist Rich Hawryluk, who recently returned to PPPL after a two-year stint as deputy director-general for the Administration Department of ITER. “It’s exciting in the scope and scale of this effort, and challenging in bringing such a large project to completion.”