Fusion Sessions at the AAAS Annual Meeting Feb 17, 2007,

Boston, MA

Title: High-Powered Lasers: Fusion Ignition and Concomitant Scientific
Opportunities

Track: Science and Engineering on the Horizon

Session Start/End Time: Saturday, Feb 16, 2008, 8:30 AM -11:30 AM

Synopsis:

In the half century since the invention of the laser, its output has
grown from millijoules to megajoules and from milliwatts to petawatts.
The next generation of such lasers, currently under construction or
design in Europe, Japan, and the United States, is expected to achieve
fusion ignition of the deuterium-tritium pellets on which the laser
beams impinge, producing temperatures and densities well in excess of
their values at the core of the sun and neutron densities for a short
time that are far beyond those of any other terrestrial source. This
effort may have an obvious effect on the global energy situation.
However, in the space and time of our universe, these conditions have
existed only in the Big Bang, the cores of massive stars, and nuclear
weapons; they will soon be produced in the targets of the next
generation of high-powered lasers. Thus, these facilities will enable a
wide variety of heretofore impossible experiments in basic science.
Speakers review the overall concepts behind laser fusion, then describe
the fusion ignition efforts in Europe, the United States, and Japan, and
highlight some of the high-energy-density science opportunities that
will be enabled by the development of these high-powered lasers. The
invited speakers represent many of the world's major players in the
worldwide fusion effort.

Organized by:

Richard N Boyd, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA;
Karl van Bibber, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA

Presentations:

1\. Basics of Inertial Confinement Fusion\--John Lindl, Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA

2\. OMEGA Extended Performance Laser System Project\--Robert McCrory,
University of Rochester, Rochester, NY

3\. National Ignition Facility\--Edward Moses, Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratory, Livermore, CA

4\. Fast Ignition Realization Experiment Project\--Hiroshi Azechi, Osaka
University, Osaka, Japan

5\. High-Power Laser for Energy Research Project\--Mike Dunne,
Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, United Kingdom

6\. High Energy Density Science with High-Powered Lasers---Raymond
Jeanloz, UC Berkeley, CA

Title: Progress in Magnetic Fusion Energy Research: 50 Years of
International Collaboration and Future Prospects

Track: The Future of Energy

Session Start/End Time: Saturday, Feb 16, 2008, 1:45 PM - 4:45 PM

Synopsis:

Magnetic fusion research was declassified in 1958 at the Geneva
Conference and has since become a strongly international activity. This
symposium celebrates the 50th anniversary of this singular world
scientific event. In addition to a historic perspective, talks will be
given by eminent international and U.S. speakers on the progress in
scientific research and advances in technology through international
collaboration. The culmination of this collaboration is the signing of
an international agreement by seven parties in the world, representing
more than half the world's population, to construct the International
Tokamak Experimental Reactor (ITER). It is one of the largest
international scientific projects to date, and is expected to cost about
US\$5 billion. ITER should demonstrate the scientific and technical
feasibility of fusion energy. Also to be presented is a proposal to
broaden fusion research internationally beyond ITER that would speed up
the realization of fusion energy.

Organized by:

Miklos Porkolab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA;
Barrie Ripin, Research Applied, Bethesda, MD

Presentations:

1\. Fusion Research: 50 Years of International Scientific
Collaboration\--Evgeny P. Velikhov, Kurchatov Institute, Moscow, Russian
Federation

2\. Fusion Power, and Who Needs It? An Updated Assessment\--Predhiman
Kaw, Institute of Plasma Research, Bhat, India

3\. U.S. International Collaboration in Fusion Research and
Participation in the ITER Project\--Raymond Fonck, U.S. Department of
Energy, Washington, DC

4\. Progress in Fusion Research Via the International Tokamak Physics
Activity: A Collaboration Paradigm\--Ron Stambaugh, General Atomics, San
Diego, CA

5\. Advances in Technology To Realize Fusion Energy in the International
Context\--Kathryn McCarthy, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, ID

6\. Strengthening and Accelerating the Development of Fusion Energy: An
International Challenge\--Chris Llewellyn Smith, United Kingdom Atomic
Energy Authority, Culham, United Kingdom