The Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory is a United States Department of Energy Facility

DOE Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory VOL. 3, NO. 2 • FALL 1999

In large photo at left, standing

next to the Hall Thruster, are,

from left (back row), Kai-Mei Fu,

PPPL technical associate Dick

Yager, PPPL physicist Yevgeny

Raitses, visitor Amnon Fruchtman,

and Project Head Nathaniel Fisch;

(front row) Adam Edwards,

Eugenio Ortiz, and Princeton University graduate student Andrei

Litvak. In small photo above are

Fu (left) and Fisch inside the Hall

Thruster. Fu, Edwards, and Ortiz

are Energy Research Undergraduate Laboratory Fellowship students who were at the Lab for 10

weeks during the summer.

Hall Thruster Experiments Begin

To establish the Hall Thruster experiment at the

Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), “all

the planets had to be aligned.”

So noted Principal Investigator Nathaniel Fisch as

he unfolded how each item — or “planet” — fell into

place during the past year to make the project a reality.

A Hall thruster is a plasma-based propulsion system for

space vehicles.

First, ideas generated in collaborative theoretical

research with Professor Amnon Fruchtman of the Center for Technological Education in Holon, Israel, indicated that certain improvements might be made in Hall

thrusters. The theoretical effort was funded by the U.S.

Air Force, and the theoretical results suggested an

interesting experimental campaign.

Second, with the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor

(TFTR) closed down at PPPL, the time was ripe for

PPPL to expand nonfusion experimental efforts.

Third, the TFTR remote manipulator tank was available and could serve as the vacuum chamber for the

thruster.

Fourth, the area that had housed the S-1 Spheromak

at the Laboratory was available and it looked as if the tank

would just fit.

Fifth — and probably most importantly — the perfect

person to assume a key staff position for the project, Dr.

Yevgeny Raitses, was looking for a post-doctoral position. “Yevgeny knew how to build a thruster. He had built

one in Russia and then another one in Soreq, Israel for his

thesis,” said Fisch, a professor of astrophysical sciences

at Princeton University. “Professor Fruchtman and I had

been collaborating with the Soreq thruster project, when

I noticed a truly exceptional graduate student. Quite

frankly, I would not have embarked on the project if we

could not have attracted Yevgeny. Fortunately, Yevgeny

Continued on page 2
PPPL NEWS • Fall 1999 Page 2

The PPPL NEWS is issued by the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, a research facility

supported by the United States Department of Energy and managed by Princeton University.

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Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, P.O. Box 451, Princeton, NJ 08543; telephone 609-243-2750;

fax 609-243-2751; e-mail info@pppl.gov .

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Information Services Head: Anthony R. DeMeo

Editor: Patti Wieser

Photographer: Elle Starkman

Layout and Graphics: Gregory J. Czechowicz,

Elle Starkman, and Patti Wieser

was intrigued by the opportunity at PPPL. He has been

absolutely key to the project — in designing the laboratory for the Hall Thruster experiment, in figuring out how

to build the vacuum system, and in designing and building

the prototype thruster and basic diagnostics.”

One of the first obstacles in building the experimental

facility was moving the 15-ton, 28-foot by 8-foot manipulator tank. The scientists needed a tank of that size to have

a state-of-the-art facility that would be competitive with

other thruster facilities. “At first,” recalled Fisch, “people

said it couldn’t be done because it was too heavy and

would be too costly to move. Also, there was the matter

of removing the remote manipulator arm. It was determined that it was possible to move it if some flanges were

removed. There was a clearance of what seemed like an

inch on both sides; but there was a truck driver who really

knew how to park. The crew managed to hoist the tank

using a 15-ton crane at the former S-1 site.”

Fisch said there was dedicated support from all corners of the Lab to get the project underway — from

checking out possible sites, to ensuring safety, to moving

the tank, to getting the facility operational. “There was not

a great deal of funding for the project, but everybody

seemed to want this to succeed,” said Fisch.

The facility is now host to several student projects,

including building a movable probe diagnostic and doing

theoretical work on crossed electric and magnetic fields

that will be tested on the facility. Also, the U.S. Air Force

is now funding experiments in extrapolating the thruster

ideas to the microthrust regime. One goal of the research

is to improve plasma Hall thrusters, which can be used on

Thruster

Continued from page 1

satellites. For example, communications satellites are

programmed to remain over one precise geographic location. However, such geosynchronous satellites drift out of

place. Hall thrusters could be employed to push a geosynchronous satellite back into its correct position. Other

satellites in low-earth orbit are slowed by friction in the

upper atmosphere. Hall thrusters could generate the force

to compensate for this drag. Presently there are approximately 600 operational satellites in low-earth orbit and

over 300 in geosynchronous orbit that could, in principle,

employ Hall thrusters. Gradually, these satellites will

have to be replaced; consequently, a market may exist for

the more efficient Hall thrusters.

Fisch described the potential benefits of plasmabased thrusters over other types of thrusters. “A Hall

thruster is a plasma-based propulsion system for space

vehicles such as satellites. The amount of fuel that must

be carried by a satellite depends on the speed with which

it can be ejected by the thruster. Chemical rockets have

very limited fuel exhaust speed, but plasmas can be

ejected at much higher speeds. Therefore, much less fuel

needs to be carried on board,” he said.

Less than $200,000 was spent to assemble PPPL’s

thruster facility and build the first prototype thruster.

Fisch takes great pride in this fact and is quick to note that

another U.S. facility comparable to PPPL’s reportedly

came with a pricetag of $6 million.

“Our budget was enough to hire Yevgeny, clear out

the S-1 space, and move the TFTR manipulator tank.

Somehow we also managed on this budget to build a stateof-the-art prototype thruster with basic diagnostics...All

the planets were aligned to get this thing to work. We now

have a fantastic state-of-the-art thruster facility,” said

Fisch. ●
Page 3 PPPL NEWS • Fall 1999

A Hall thruster is a

plasma-based

propulsion system for

space vehicles. A conventional ion thruster

consists of two grids,

an anode and a cathode, between which a

voltage drop occurs.

Positively charged

ions accelerate away

from the anode toward

the cathode grid and

through it. After the

ions get past the cathode, electrons are

added to the flow, neutralizing the output to

keep it moving. A

thrust is exerted on the

What is a Hall Thruster?

PPPL Receives Two State Awards

The Laboratory recently received two New Jersey Governor’s Occupational Safety and Health Department Recognition Awards. Above

right, National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) Project Director Masa Ono (left) and Program Director Martin Peng pose by NSTX

after receiving one plaque on behalf of NSTX employees. Above left, Environment, Safety, and Health Division Head Jerry Levine displays

the award received on behalf of all PPPL employees. Congratulations, staff!

anode-cathode system, in a direction opposite to that of

the flow. Unfortunately, a positive charge builds up in the

space between the grids, limiting the ion flow and, therefore, the magnitude of the thrust that can be attained.

In a Hall thruster,

electrons injected

into a radial magnetic

field neutralize the

space charge. The

magnitude of the field

is approximately 200

gauss, strong enough

to trap the electrons

by causing them to

spiral around the field

lines. Together, the

magnetic field and a

trapped electron

cloud serve as a virtual cathode. The

ions, too heavy to be

affected by the field,

continue their journey through the virtual cathode. The movement of the positive and negative

electrical charges through the system results in a net force

on the thruster in a direction opposite that of the ion

flow.●
PPPL NEWS • Fall 1999 Page 4

PPPL recently received the Dwight D. Eisenhower

Award from the U.S. Small Business Administration

(SBA), as well as the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE)

Corporate Small Business Award. The awards recognize

the Laboratory’s outstanding record in subcontracting to

small businesses.

Eisenhower Award

SBA officials presented the Eisenhower award to

PPPL Director Rob Goldston during a procurement conference in June in Washington, D.C.

PPPL was one of three to receive

the citation this year.

“We are very pleased to receive the Eisen- hower Award

this year from the Small Business

Administration. Rod Templon and

Arlene White have been outstanding in their ability to find

win-win op- portunities for

our research and for small businesses,” said Goldston. Templon is PPPL’s

Procurement Head and White is PPPL’s Small Business

Liaison. They joined Goldston in accepting the award on

behalf of the Laboratory.

Created in 1991, the Eisenhower Award is presented

each year to large businesses that operate as federal prime

contractors. The award honors those that have excelled in

PPPL Wins Two “Small Business” Awards

The Lab Garners the Dwight D. Eisenhower Award and the DOE Small Business Award

“We were honored to receive this

award from our sponsor, the

Department of Energy. It

recognizes a great deal of

hard work by the Procurement

staff in the areas of small business

outreach, supplier selection,

and contract administration.”

—Rod Templon

From left are Rod Templon, Rob Goldston (holding the Eisenhower

Award), and Arlene White.

their use of small businesses as suppliers and subcontractors. Small businesses include small disadvantaged and

women-owned firms. PPPL subcontracted nearly $8.6

million in Fiscal Year 1998 and provided smaller firms

with almost $5.6 million of that total.

PPPL was judged to be the most outstanding of all

“research and development” companies nominated from

the Small Business Administration’s portfolio of 2,500

large contractors. SBA Commercial Market Representative Andrew Zuber nominated the Laboratory for the

award. The Eisenhower Award for 1999 also was awarded

in the manufacturing category to Bell Helicopter Textron,

Inc., of Forth Worth, Texas, and in the services category

to Computer Sciences Corp., of Falls Church, Virginia.

DOE Corporate Small Business Award

Also in June, PPPL received the DOE Corporate

Small Business Award. The award cites the Laboratory

for its “outstanding achievement in providing substantial

contracting opportunities to small business” during Fiscal

Year 1998. DOE Deputy Secretary T.J. Glauthier presented the citation to PPPL Deputy Director Richard

Hawryluk during a ceremony in Washington, D.C. PPPL,

the DOE Chicago Operations Office, and Brookhaven

National Laboratory each received the award this year.

“We were honored to receive this award from our

sponsor, the Department of Energy. It recognizes a great

deal of hard work by the Procurement staff in the areas of

small business outreach, supplier selection, and contract

administration,” said Templon. ●
Page 5 PPPL NEWS • Fall 1999

Furth Honored at Scientific Symposium

Harold P. Furth, former Director of PPPL and one of

the “giants” of fusion, was honored during a daylong scientific symposium on June 7 at PPPL. More than

100 people, some from the national and international

fusion community, as well as from the Department of

Energy and Princeton University, came to the Laboratory

to celebrate the life and scientific achievements of Furth.

Furth retired on July 1 and became Professor Emeritus of

Astrophysical Sciences at Princeton University.

Symposium speakers shared their remembrances of

Furth and heralded his contributions to fusion research

during the past five decades. Furth, who served as Director of PPPL from 1981 to 1990, launched the recordsetting Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor project, which

operated for 14 years before closing down in 1997.

A native of Vienna, Furth received a Ph.D. in physics

from Harvard in 1960 and worked on controlled magnetic

fusion research at the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory

(now the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory) in

California prior to joining PPPL in 1967 and being

appointed Professor of Astrophysical Sciences at Princeton

University. He co-headed the Experimental Division at

the Laboratory from 1967 to 1978, when he was appointed Associate Director and Head of the Research

Department.

He became Program Director in 1980 and Director of

the Lab the following year. Furth holds 20 patents, primarily in the areas of controlled magnetic fusion technology

and metal forming with pulsed magnetic fields, and has

published more than 200 technical papers. ●
PPPL NEWS • Fall 1999 Page 6

Teachers Operate Fusion Machine at PPPL

This summer, teachers participating in PPPL’s “Plasma

Camp” conducted experiments on a small fusion

machine at the Laboratory. Three of the 14 teachers

enrolled in this year’s Plasma Camp, officially called the

Plasma Science and Fusion Energy Institute, studied

plasma behavior in the Current Drive Experiment-Upgrade (CDX-U).

Working with scientists at the Laboratory, one teacher

operated the hydrogen-fueled machine, the second evaluated the temperature and density of the plasma, and the

third analyzed impurities in the plasma recorded with a

soft X-ray pinhole camera taking pictures inside the

machine. The experiments involved changing the magnetic field level to gauge the effect on the plasma.

“This is the first time that I know of where teachers

actually ran an experimental fusion device and conducted

research the same way our scientists do,” said PPPL’s

Andrew Post Zwicker, a Senior Program Leader in the

Laboratory’s Science Education Program. Post Zwicker

designed and led the program.

The Institute is an intensive two-week summer program of lectures, lab work, and curriculum design for high

The teachers who participated in this year’s Plasma Camp and the leaders of the workshop are, from

left, Michael Liebl, of Nebraska, Peter Gaudiano, of Louisiana, David Taylor, of Alabama, Sophia

Gershman, of New Jersey, Tony Romanello, of Utah, Miguel Villanueva, of Massachusetts, Stephanie

Connors, of Louisiana, Nick Guilbert (co-leader of the workshop), of New Jersey, Marc Sabb, of

Arizona, Fran Leary, of New York, Randy Brown, of Vermont, Andrew Post Zwicker (co-leader and

designer of the workshop), Violeta Grigorescu, of New Jersey, Dwight Johnston, of Pennsylvania, Steve

Brehmer, of Minnesota, and Fred Oswald, of California.

Marc Sabb, a Plasma Camp participant who teaches at Canyon del

Oro High School in Tucson, Arizona, stands next to an X-ray

spectrometer, which takes a spectrum of multiple emission lines

from the plasma.

school physics teachers who were selected nationwide.

This is the second summer the Laboratory hosted the

program. The three who did

the CDX-U experiments participated in last year’s program and returned this year

to assist with the workshop.

The returning teachers include Sophia Gershman of

New Jersey, the Rev. Michael

Liebl of Nebraska, and Marc

Sabb of Arizona. The program concluded on July 30.

The Institute’s goal is to help

teachers develop curricular

materials for introductory

physics teaching, making the

subject of plasma and fusion

accessible to high school pupils. Gershman noted that

PPPL’s program treats physics teachers as colleagues.

“At the Plasma Institute,

they teach us on a graduate

level and create a stimulating atmosphere where we can

develop curriculum materials appropriate for our students,” she said. ●
Page 7 PPPL NEWS • Fall 1999

PPPL’s Towner Awarded for Emergency Services Work

PPPL’s Harry Towner recently

received the Stark & Stark EMS

Recognition Award. Towner is an

emergency medicial technician with

the Plainsboro Rescue Squad. He was

honored by Stark & Stark, a law firm,

for 20 years of tireless work and service for the squad and the residents of

Plainsboro. ●

Princeton Large Torus Removed and Scrap Sold

During the summer, an independent wrecking crew

came to PPPL and lugged away 212 tons of metal

from the Princeton Large Torus (PLT) test cell — and

paid for the privilege.

Removing the Device

Mercer Wrecking and Recycling Corporation won

the bid for the removal of PLT and spent 12 weeks

breaking apart PLT and hauling it away for scrap metal.

The PLT tokamak was made of copper poloidal field and

toroidal field coils, insulating compound, and stainless

steel. The project entailed removing the device and its

supporting platform down to the concrete floor.

Prior to the removal, PPPL staff disconnected all

electrical and mechanical systems from the PLT tokamak, which was not contaminated. The PLT operated at

PPPL from December of 1975 until December of 1986.

The removal of PLT clears the facility for future

projects at the Laboratory. ●

PPPL’ers take one last look at PLT before it is taken apart and sold

for scrap. From left are Alex Ilic, Joel Hosea, and Masa Ono.

ch

e

c

k

us out on the we

b

at

http://www.pppl.gov
PPPL NEWS • Fall 1999 Page 8

More Than Just a Summer Job

I

n an effort to prepare the next generation of scientists

and engineers, PPPL staff served as mentors to 16

undergraduate and graduate college students this summer. The mentors and students came together through

three summer programs organized by PPPL’s Science

Education Program. The programs include the National

Undergraduate Fellowship (NUF), the Energy Research

Undergraduate Laboratory Fellowship (ERULF), and a

newly implemented collaboration among PPPL, Florida

A&M University, and Fisk University aimed at students

in Master’s degree physics programs.

PPPL Senior Program Leader Pamela Lucas said,

“These undergraduate and Master’s research programs

are designed to prepare future scientists by providing

outstanding students with an opportunity to conduct

research in the disciplines that comprise the plasma

sciences, in general, and fusion research, in particular. It

also provides our researchers with capable summer assistants.” Lucas oversaw the summer student programs.

NUF

Through the NUF program, established in 1992,

fifteen undergraduate students were selected to participate in the nationwide program this year. A committee

with representatives from PPPL, General Atomics, and

other institutions made the selections. Six worked on

projects at PPPL, while the remaining nine went to

various institutions for internships.

PPPL physicist Martha Redi served as a mentor to

NUF participant Ahmed Diallo, a University of Montana

student who is originally from Burkina-Faso in Africa.

Undergraduate students who participated in PPPL summer programs this year are, from left, (kneeling) Sabrina Turner, David Schuster,

Jesse Hwang, Damon Tuney, Kai-Mei Fu, Amaria George; (middle) Jonathan Nazemi, Vyacheslav Lukin, Geoffrey Brumfiel, Shinya

Kurebayashi, Tim Miller, Anthony Mrozckowski, Mike Mulligan, Karl Leuenroth, Adam Edwards; (back row) Brian Pierce, Eugenio Ortiz,

Remik Ziemlinski, Jeff Nine, Steve Little, David Hannum, Brian Kirby, Thawatchai Onjun, and Warren Welch.

“I’ve been fortunate to have three NUF students work

with me during the last few years,” said Redi. “Each

opportunity has been enjoyable and worthwhile, both

personally and professionally.”

Redi characterized the students as “able and energetic

and pleasant to work with” and noted that they often make

such a contribution to the project that they are included as

authors on the project’s papers. For instance, Diallo is one

of the authors of the “Robustness and Flexibility in the

“NCSX: Global Ideal MHD [magnetohydrodynamics]

Stability and Energetic Particle Transport” paper that was

presented at the 12th International Stellarator Workshop

in September in Madison, Wisconsin. NCSX is the proposed National Compact Stellarator Experiment.

“Ahmed has made a great contribution. Without him,

I would only have been able to do a fraction of the work,”

said Redi.

Diallo joined the stellarator team, attending meetings

and participating in teleconferences. Redi and Diallo

ironed out computing problems that involved moving

programs across platforms, which required some program

conversion. “What works well is to bring the student into

the project I’m actually working on, giving that student

the same things to do that I’m doing,” said Redi.

Diallo, who was given computer and desk space in the

Lab and spent many hours consulting with Redi, said the

work was intensive. He often spent evenings at the library

on Princeton’s main campus continuing his research. Said

Diallo, “Working with Dr. Redi has been great. She has

taught me a lot, especially about how to organize. I was

really challenged by the project.” He added that one of his
Page 9 PPPL NEWS • Fall 1999

Student Ahmed Diallo (left) works with physicist Martha Redi.

From left are PPPL’s Ron Hatcher (pointing), and students Brian

Kirby (sitting), and Michael Mulligan.

biggest discoveries was how a research team designs a

machine such as a stellarator — through intensive and

occasionally heated discussion.

ERULF

ERULF is a national program offered by the Office of

Science at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). PPPL,

one of 10 laboratories across the U.S. participating, hosted

eight undergraduate students this year. PPPL’s Ronald

Hatcher was a mentor for two ERULF students, helping

them with computer and engineering projects.

Pittsburg State University senior Brian Kirby worked

on converting an old code for tokamak equilibria for use

on a UNIX workstation. University of Texas senior

Michael Mulligan assisted in the design of high-power

fast switching diode arrays for a Magnetic Reconnection

Experiment power system upgrade, which involved some

analytical and simulation work.

Said Hatcher of his role as mentor, “It is satisfying in

that hopefully you help these students move from academic work where they can find answers to problems in

textbooks to something more involved where they are

finding solutions and solving problems on their own.”

Kirby, a physics major at the Pittsburg, Kansas university, said, “This was a great learning experience and a

lot of fun.” Mulligan agreed and noted that the projects

benefit students other than those enrolled in plasma

physics programs. “This was a very good experience for

me because the work supports experiments at the Laboratory, but it was not strictly plasma physics research,” said

Mulligan, an electrical engineering student.

Kirby and Mulligan presented their work, “Porting

and Benchmarking the PPPL FQ Equilibrium Code” at

the Faculty and Student Undergraduate Research Educational conference at Argonne National Laboratory this

summer. Hatcher also attended the conference.

Collaboration

Through a collaboration with Florida A&M and Fisk

Universities, PPPL is working with faculty and students

from the two institutions whose highest physics degree is

a Master’s. As part of the collaboration, Kyron Williams

and Erick May, two graduate students under Professor

Joseph Johnson at the Center for Nonlinear and

Nonequilibrium Aeroscience at Florida A&M University, spent three weeks at PPPL this summer. They were

involved in setting up a laser-induced fluorescence diagnostic on PPPL’s Current Drive Experiment-Upgrade

(CDX-U). Florida A&M provided the laser, optics, and

detector for the diagnostic, and PPPL provided the data

collection electronics as well as on-site coordination and

physics support. Physicist Andrew Post Zwicker and

CDX-U Co-head Robert Kaita served as the PPPL mentors. “In a relatively short time, the hardware was made

operational and the data archiving was set up to enable

offsite access,” said Kaita. “We look forward to continuing our fruitful collaboration as our colleagues at Florida

A&M and Fisk are able to analyze their data remotely in

the months ahead.”

Both the NUF and ERULF programs are funded and

sponsored by the DOE, while the collaboration project is

internally sponsored. Other projects the students were

involved in for the summer programs ranged from working on the Hall Thruster diagnostics and modeling to

computer modeling and computer programming. And

while it benefitted students, it was a real bonus for

mentors. “Having a summer student work with me increases the work done by a factor of about three, and it’s

also more fun,” said Redi. ●
PPPL NEWS • Fall 1999 Page 10

The Troops Rally for Safety ...and Ice Cream

Clockwise, from bottom left, students and staff mingle during the ice cream social; David Gates (left) orders the Rocky Road flavor from

PPPL Director Rob Goldston (in hat) while Deputy Director Rich Hawryluk watches; Sabrina Turner (left), an Energy Research

Undergraduate Laboratory Fellowship student, and Joe Franchino sample the toppings; Erik Perry (right) dishes up a bowlful of ice cream

for Jon Menard. — Photo collage by Elle Starkman

On one of the hottest days of the summer, the Laboratory celebrated its safety success by breaking out

tubs of ice cream in the Lobby.

“The ISM [Integrated Safety Management] review in

June was very successful and we owe much of our success

to J.W. Anderson and to his group. We passed the review

with absolute flying colors,” said PPPL Director Rob

Goldston, who had taken a break from scooping to address the troops during the July 28 party. The party was

provided by the Laboratory to thank employees for their

hard work and commitment to ISM.

During the employee bash, Goldston also acknowledged the following awards: the Small Business Administration Dwight D. Eisenhower Award for Excellence for

Exemplary Utilization of Small Business, presented to

Rod Templon and Arlene White; the New Jersey

Governor’s Occupational Safety and Health Department

Recognition Award, presented to Martin Peng and Masa

Ono on behalf of NSTX employees; and the New Jersey

Governor’s Occupational Safety and Health Recognition

Award presented to J.W. Anderson on behalf of all PPPL

employees.

Goldston also noted that the 1999 Fusion Summer

Study meeting in Snowmass, Colorado, was an “amazing

accomplishment,” thanks to the efforts of Rich Hawryluk

and John DeLooper. “It’s a good time to eat ice cream,

beat the heat, and realize that fusion is important and

people seem to be recognizing this fact,” said Goldston.●
Page 11 PPPL NEWS • Fall 1999

The U. S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Laboratories house world-class facilities where

more than 30,000 scientists and engineers perform cutting-edge research spanning DOE’s science,

energy, national security, and environmental quality missions.

Interested in the latest achievements of the National Laboratories? Then visit the DOE Pulse at:

http://www.ornl.gov/news/pulse/.

DOE Pulse is distributed twice each month. Each issue includes research highlights, updates on

collaborations among laboratories, and profiles of individual researchers.

DACW Takes Up Collection for Womanspace

During the spring, the

Laboratory’s Director’s

Advisory Committee on Women

(DACW) organized a collection

for Womanspace, an area shelter for abused women. On June

7, Committee Chairperson Molly

Tompkins and DACW member

Mary Ann Brown presented the

items to Womanspace Executive Director Pat Hart and

Womanspace Residential Manager Peggy Weimer. The DACW

collected clothing, toys, and

household items. The collection

filled a van brought by the

Womanspace officials. Also

given was a monetary donation.

Brown organized the effort at the Laboratory. At far right, Tompkins hands

a box of donations to DACW member Phyllis Roney (back to camera). At

right, Mary Ann Brown (left), Hart (middle), and Weimer take a break

from loading the van. ●
PPPL NEWS • Fall 1999 Printed on recycled paper. Page 12

NSTX Experimental Operations Underway

The National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) and Engineering and Technical

Infrastructure Departments hosted a pizza

party for all staff in the

Control Room on September 16 to celebrate

the successful completion of the NSTX construction tasks and

the restart of plasma operations. At left everyone enjoys the

pizza. At right, graduate student Sean Strasberg gets a slice

during the lunch-time celebration. At top left, some members of

the NSTX Operations team pose by the project display in the

Lobby. From left are Mike Anderson, Bill Blanchard, Glenn

Pearson, Ray Camp, Joe Winston, Colin McFarlane, Tom

Czeizinger, Jerry Gething, and Bob Herskowitz. At top right is

the interior of the NSTX during a plasma shot on September 20.

The NSTX experimental campaign is underway! ●