VOL. 9, NO. 1 • FALL 2004

Continued on page 2

Continued on page 3

$12.5 Million Awarded 

in NCSX Subcontracts

PPPL Director Rob Goldston (center) signs the subcontracts for 

the NCSX components fabrication. Joining Goldston at the signing 

table are NCSX Project Head Hutch Neilson (right) and NCSX Deputy 

Project Head for Engineering Phil Heitzenroeder. 

PPPL has awarded two subcontracts for the fabrication of major components for the National Compact Stellarator Experiment (NCSX), now under construction at the 

Laboratory. NCSX will explore the physics of an innovative 

concept for fusion energy production and will advance the 

understanding of the related basic science. PPPL is building 

the new experiment in partnership with the USDOE’s Oak 

Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).

 A team led by Energy Industries of Ohio, Inc., of Independence, Ohio, has been selected to manufacture the 

winding forms upon which unique, modular electromagnetic 

coils will be mounted. Team members include the C.A. 

Lawton Company, Pattern Division, of DePerre, Wis.; MetalTek International, Carondelet Division, of Pevely, Mo.; 

and Major Tool and Machine, Inc., of Indianapolis, Ind. 

In addition to being part of the winding form team, Major 

Tool and Machine was awarded a subcontract to manufacture the NCSX vacuum chamber. These components will 

form the heart of NCSX, which will use a magnetic field 

to confine a hot ionized gas (plasma) fuel. The modular 

PPPL’ers Celebrate 

NSTX Operations

Pizza for everyone! On August 6, PPPL’ers consumed more than 100 pizzas in the Lab’s Lobby at an Olympics-themed bash to celebrate the successful completion 

of the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) 

operations for Fiscal Year 2004. The machine completed 

21.1 weeks of operation on August 5, with myriad accomplishments.

 “This party is in honor of the NSTX 21 run-week 

accomplishment and in honor of all who contributed to 

making the run a scientific success,” said PPPL Director 

Rob Goldston. “Accomplishing the run-week milestone 

was an Olympic-class marathon: hurdles were cleared, 

poles were vaulted, targets were hit (both archery and 

sharp-shooting), shots were put, hammers were thrown 

(safely, safely, safely), thrusts were parried, goals were 

scored, beams were balanced, boats were tacked (!), 

serves were volleyed, and generally the NSTX plasma 

was wrestled in every which way (freestyle and GrecoRoman, as well as Taekwondo).” 

 He congratulated staff and gave a summary of NSTX’s 

achievements, which included producing 2,460 plasma 

Party-goers grab a slice or two. PPPL’s John Jenner (far left) leads 

the line.
PPPL NEWS • Fall 2004 Page 2

electromagnets will help shape the magnetic field confining 

the NCSX plasma within the vacuum chamber.

 “These are the most challenging and critical components 

of NCSX, and we are delighted to award these contracts 

to such superbly qualified industrial subcontractors,” said 

PPPL Director Robert J. Goldston. The key innovative 

feature of NCSX is its complex shape, designed through 

advanced computer simulations, that is predicted to be able 

to support a high-efficiency, fully steady-state fusion system. 

The complex shape makes construction of its components 

especially challenging. 

 Energy Industries’ contract is 

valued at approximately $8 million 

and Major Tool’s at approximately 

$4.5 million. Funded entirely by 

the USDOE’s Office of Science, 

the construction of NCSX will 

cost an estimated $86.3 million. 

It is scheduled to begin operation 

in 2008.

 NCSX’s modular coils are 

among the most complex, innovative electromagnets ever designed. 

The 18 winding forms will consist 

of non-magnetic stainless steel 

castings with the winding surfaces 

machined to a tolerance of plus or 

minus 0.020 inch. The largest will be 110 inches tall. Each 

will weigh approximately 6,000 pounds. The winding forms 

will provide the backbone of the modular coil system and 

will be strong enough to support electromagnetic loads in 

the range of 7,000 pounds per inch. Energy Industries will 

manufacture six identical sets, each comprised of three 

types of intricately shaped forms. Delivery of the first 

winding form is expected in May, 2005. PPPL engineers 

will then wind layers of insulated copper conductor around 

the forms to create the modular coils.

 The 25,000-pound NCSX vacuum vessel resembles a 

twisted doughnut. It will be made of Inconel 625, an alloy 

that is hard to form, but has high electrical resistivity that 

will suppress electrical currents that might interfere with 

plasma confinement. The vessel will be press formed with 

0.375-inch walls and have an overall profile tolerance of 

plus or minus 0.188 inch. It will be fabricated in three 

identical segments, which will be welded together end-toend at PPPL during final assembly. The subcontract also 

includes fabrication of the 90 vacuum vessel ports that will 

provide plasma heating and diagnostic access. Major Tool 

will deliver the vessel in the fall of 2005.

 Fusion is the energy source of the stars. It involves the 

joining, or fusing, of the atoms of light elements, such as 

hydrogen, to produce heavier elements, such as helium. 

In the process, mass is converted into energy according to 

the Einstein formula E = mc2.

 To produce useful amounts of energy from fusion on 

earth, scientists must produce a plasma with the required 

temperature, density, and heat retention. To achieve this, 

fusion researchers must find the best shape for the hot reacting plasma and the magnetic fields that keep it in place. 

Dramatic advances in magnetic confinement physics and 

computational capabilities have 

yielded a promising new configuration — the compact stellarator. 

NCSX will be the first device in 

this class anywhere in the world.

 Currently the most developed 

plasma configuration is produced 

in the doughnut-shaped tokamak. 

Record levels of fusion power have 

been achieved in large tokamak 

devices, such as the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor, which operated 

at PPPL between 1983 and 1997. 

The cross section of a tokamak is 

circular and remains the same all 

around the doughnut. The cross 

section of a stellarator varies, depending on where the 

doughnut is sliced. This additional degree of freedom allows physicists to select the best plasma cross section for 

optimal performance.

 The first magnetic fusion devices explored at Princeton 

were stellarators, or “star generators,” a term coined by 

Princeton Professor Lyman Spitzer, who initiated fusion 

research in the U.S. The NCSX will create a plasma that 

is more compact than traditional stellarators, including 

those now operational in Europe and Japan. NCSX will 

combine the best features of the traditional stellarator with 

those of the tokamak. The smaller size may lead to a more 

economical fusion power plant.

 The Helically Symmetric eXperiment (HSX) at the 

University of Wisconsin, Madison, is the only existing 

stellarator in the U.S. Foreign experiments include the 

Large Helical Device in Japan and the Wendelstein 7-AS 

in Germany. The Wendelstein 7X is now under construction in Germany as well. ●

NCSX

Continued from page 1

The NCSX vacuum vessel.
Page 3 PPPL NEWS • Fall 2004

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. Correspondence and requests to reprint material 

should be directed to: Information Services, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, P.O. Box 451, Princeton, NJ 08543; 

telephone 609-243-2750; fax 609-243-2751; e-mail pppl_info@pppl.gov .

PPPL NEWS

Information Services Head: Anthony R. DeMeo

Editor/Writer: Patti Wieser

Photographer: Elle Starkman

Layout and Graphics: Gregory J. Czechowicz 

and Patti Wieser

Party

Continued from page 1

discharges with some of the best characteristics ever made 

in NSTX.

 The Director noted that many experimental hurdles 

were jumped on the machine. During the run, experiments 

required by the NSTX 2004 milestones were successfully 

completed, enabling further analyses. By using new research tools, a wider range of plasma operating conditions 

was obtained.

Ed Synakowski, NSTX Deputy Program Director, 

characterized the FY 2004 operations as “wonderfully run 

At right, PPPL Director Rob 

Goldston delivers congratulatory remarks to staff at the 

celebration.

Manickam Named New Theory Head

Physicist Janardhan Manickam has been named 

Head of PPPL’s Theory 

Department. He replaces 

William Tang, PPPL Chief 

Scientist, who is engaged in 

advancing scientific computing initiatives and strategies 

in collaboration with other 

plasma science institutions, 

Princeton University departments, and the DOE Office 

experiments that produced 

wonderful data.”

 The machine is in a 

maintenance period until 

early 2005. “Our achievements set us up for what 

needs to be done for the 

next NSTX run,” said 

Goldston. ●

Janardhan Manickam

of Science.

 A leader in the fusion theory community, Manickam 

also has contributed strongly to the experimental program, 

most recently as national coordinator for spherical torus 

theory. A spherical torus is a type of experimental fusion 

device. His principal interest focuses on magnetohydrodynamics, which is the study of the interaction between 

electrical fields and conducting fluids.

 PPPL Director Rob Goldston, who made the announcement last week, said, “Janardhan ‘Manny’ Manickam 

has the scientific and personal respect of everyone who 

knows him. He has a history of leadership in the fusion 

theory community, and his theoretical work has contributed strongly to the experimental program. I have great 

confidence that Manny’s leadership style, which involves 

both holding up the highest scientific standards and also 

working closely with people as individuals, will be extremely effective in our challenging research environment, 

which requires the best from everyone.”

 Manickam joined PPPL in 1975 and has been a principal research physicist since 1986. He has been a visiting 

scientist at several research institutions, including the Max 

Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Garching, Germany, 

and the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute in Tokai, 

Japan. He received a bachelor’s degree in physics from 

Osmania University in India, a master’s degree in nuclear 

physics from Andhra University in India, and a Ph.D. in 

plasma physics from the Stevens Institute of Technology 

in Hoboken, New Jersey. He is a Fellow of the American 

Physical Society, a member of numerous professional 

organizations, and a co-author on more than 150 papers 

in scientific journals. Manickam lives in Lawrenceville 

and serves on the School Board of the Lawrence Township Schools.●
PPPL NEWS • Fall 2004 Page 4

PPPL’s Fisch Named E.O. Lawrence Award Recipient

Nathaniel Fisch

PPPL’s Nathaniel Fisch is among seven winners of the 2004 E.O. Lawrence Award. Each winner received a 

gold medal, a citation, and $50,000. The award is given 

in categories for outstanding contributions in the field of 

atomic energy, broadly defined.

 “We are all enriched by the contributions these 

researchers have made ranging from engines with no 

moving parts to better ways to see the stars,” said Energy 

Secretary Spencer Abraham. “These awards, and the 

research for which they are given, show that DOE could 

easily be called the Department of Science and Energy.” 

Secretary Abraham announced the recipients in September. 

The Lawrence Awards were presented at a ceremony in 

Washington, D.C., on November 8.

 Fisch received the award in the nuclear technology 

category for his discovery of ways to use plasma waves 

to produce electric current. These wave-induced currents 

can enable tokamaks to operate continuously, which is 

necessary for an economical and practical fusion reactor.

 Fisch specializes in theoretical plasma physics with 

applications to controlled nuclear fusion, plasma devices, 

lasers, and astrophysics. At Princeton University, Fisch 

is Professor of Astrophysical Sciences and Director of 

the Program in Plasma Physics. He also is an Associated 

Faculty member in the Department of Mechanical and 

Aerospace Engineering. At PPPL, he is Associate Director 

for Academic Affairs and Head of the Laboratory’s Hall 

Thruster Experiment.

Impact of Fisch's Ideas

 Pointing to the continuing impact of Fisch’s ideas, 

PPPL Director Rob Goldston said, “Professor Fisch’s 

analyses of techniques to use radio waves to drive electrical currents in plasmas are as elegant and insightful as 

they are practical. His theoretical work, and close collaboration with the experimental team on the Princeton 

Large Torus, opened the way for a wide range of experiments and further analyses, and led to a substantial field 

of research on current-drive in toroidal plasmas. Indeed, 

sustainment of currents using radio waves may prove to 

be an essential ingredient in the steady-state operation of 

fusion power systems.” The Princeton Large Torus was 

an experimental fusion device at PPPL.

 Scott Tremaine, Chair of Princeton University’s Astrophysical Sciences Department, praised Fisch for his 

influential role in shaping graduate education in plasma 

physics.

 “For over a decade, Nat has headed the Program in 

Plasma Physics at Princeton University, which is widely 

recognized as one of the world’s premier graduate programs in plasma physics. Under Nat’s guidance, Princeton 

has trained the generation of extremely talented young 

researchers who may transform the dream of controlled 

fusion energy to reality. Nat is committed to the concept 

that both universities and national laboratories benefit from 

close cooperation in research and education in plasma 

physics,” said Tremaine.

 Fisch studied electrical engineering and computer 

science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 

receiving a B.S. in 1972, an M.S. in 1975, and a Ph.D. in 

1978. Fisch is a Fellow of the American Physical Society 

(APS). He received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1985, the 

1992 APS Award for Excellence in Plasma Physics, and 

a Department of Energy Bronze Medal for Outstanding 

Mentor 2002. Fisch is the author or co-author of more 

than 200 research papers and has been granted nine U.S. 

patents.

 A list of the other winners of this year’s Lawrence 

Award and additional information about each of the recipients is available on the web at www.sc.doe.gov.

 The Lawrence Award was established in 1959 to honor 

the memory of the late Dr. Ernest Orlando Lawrence, 

who invented the cyclotron (a particle accelerator) and 

after whom two major Energy Department laboratories in 

Berkeley and Livermore, Calif., are named. The Energy 

Secretary makes the final selection of honorees each 

year. ●
Page 5 PPPL NEWS • Fall 2004

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/.

Maintenance Group Celebrates Safety Record

I

n October, the Lab’s Maintenance and Operations Division celebrated 100,000 consecutive hours without a recordable 

injury. The 100,000 work-hours cover from May of 2003 to October of 2004.

 “I’m very impressed by the manner in which the maintenance staff members have been incorporating safety considerations into their day-to-day jobs. It’s very challenging, especially with the diverse type of work and workplaces that they 

deal with. But the staff does take this very seriously everyday, and it pays off in the long run. The 100,000 hours and 17 

months are a pretty remarkable 

milestone,” said Jack Anderson, 

Head of ES&H and Infrastructure 

Support.

 The Division’s 40 employees 

are composed of maintenance 

technicians, supervisors, clerical 

support staff, janitors, system and 

project engineers, and administrators. To celebrate the milestone, 

Maintenance and Operations 

Division Head Carl Potensky and 

Manager Shawn Connolly treated 

the staff to a pizza-and-soda party 

at the Facilities Building on October 29. The group is at left, with a 

banner to mark the occasion. Holding the banner, created by PPPL’s 

Greg Czechowicz, are Anderson at 

left and Potensky at right. ●

PPPL's von Halle Takes 

Fusion Show to Trenton 

On September 30, PPPL engineer Al von Halle introduced the topic of 

fusion and plasmas to a total of about 50 students at Trenton High 

School. Above is von Halle with a group of the students following the 

classroom presentation.
PPPL NEWS • Fall 2004 Page 6

November Marked the Start of MRI Experiment at PPPL

May Shed Light on Star and Planet Formation

Accretion occurs in a binary star system when one star is paired with a sufficiently compact star such as a white dwarf, a neutron star, or 

a black hole. An accretion disk may form as the stellar envelop of the first star is captured by the denser star. (Space Telescope Science 

Institute, NASA)

by Anthony DeMeo

The formation process of stars and planets remains one of the big questions in astrophysical science. Presently, 

scientists do not understand the required conditions and 

the accretion, or matter collection process, involved in 

this formation. The Magnetorotational Instability (MRI) 

experiment at PPPL, however, may shed light on this 

mystery.

 “The Earth must have sufficient angular momentum 

so that it does not fall into the Sun under the influence of 

gravity,” said PPPL physicist Hantao Ji, who is the project’s 

Principal Investigator. Angular momentum is the impetus 

of a body to keep rotating. “We also know that galaxies 

and solar systems have a preferred direction of rotation. 

Consequently, matter forming these systems must also 

have had net angular momentum, which must have been 

overcome by gravity for the matter to coalesce.”

 Ji explained that the angular momentum prevents 

matter from falling into the star directly, so an accretion 

disk is formed, which consists of matter losing its angular 

momentum and swirling into the core of the star. “For 

example, when our Sun was formed, the accretion process was very efficient in casting off angular momentum 

because most of the material comprising our solar system 

ended up in the Sun,” he said.

 Since angular momentum must be conserved, the 

lost amounts must be efficiently transported elsewhere. 

But how does this happen, and where does the angular 

momentum go?

 Star formation occurs in deep space and therefore is 

not directly observable, so the accretion process has been 

described only in theoretical models and in their resulting 

computer simulations. The unique PPPL apparatus will be 

the first anywhere to attempt a direct test of this widely 

postulated physical process in accretion disks.

 The project’s primary mission is to test the plausibility 

of a 1991 theory that indicates magnetorotational instability (MRI), a disruptive plasma process, plays a major 

role in accretion. Unlike most PPPL experiments, MRI 
Page 7 PPPL NEWS • Fall 2004

will not use an actual plasma. Ji and Princeton University 

Professor Jeremy Goodman, the principal collaborator for 

theory and astrophysics on the project, came up with a 

way to physically simulate an accretion disk with material 

“standing in” for the plasma, dust, and other materials.

 The system they are building consists of two concentric cylinders, each 28 centimeters in length, free to rotate 

independently about a common axis. The inner cylinder 

has a radius of 7 centimeters and is made of steel, and 

the outer cylinder has a radius of 20.3 centimeters and is 

made of plastic to allow visual inspection.

 During a typical experiment, the space between the 

cylinders will be filled with a liquid metal, chosen because 

it is easy to maintain and interacts with the magnetic field 

in ways similar to plasma. The researchers have chosen a 

mixture of 67 percent gallium, 20.5 percent indium and 

12.5 percent tin. The inner and outer cylinders will rotate 

independently in the same direction, but at significantly 

different speeds, 4,000 rpm and 533 rpm, respectively. 

The project is a significant engineering challenge since it 

requires two rotating disks at each end of the cylinders. 

The disks must be driven at different speeds by separate 

motors through six concentric pipes.

 Experiments will be conducted with and without a 

magnetic field parallel to the axis of the cylinders. Researchers will measure the differences in the torque on the 

cylinders between both conditions. The magnetorotational 

instability, when it occurs in the liquid metal, will cause 

angular momentum to be transferred from the inner cylinder toward the outer cylinder, resulting in an increase in 

torque couplings between cylinders. This is equivalent to 

the transfer of angular momentum outward in an accretion 

disk, allowing matter to fall toward its center, forming a 

star. This result would support the hypothesis that MRI 

is responsible for the transport of angular momentum.

 Accretion disks also form around massive black holes 

in the center of many galaxies and in binary star systems. 

Results from the PPPL experiments will help astrophysicists better understand these phenomena. Understanding 

transport phenomena in plasmas is important for basic 

plasma physics in general, and also for fusion plasmas 

in particular.

 Staffing the MRI project are Ji, postdoc Michael Burin, 

and graduate students Ethan Schartman and Wei Liu, with 

technical and engineering support from Robert Cutler, 

Steve Raftopoulos, Phil Heitzenroeder, Chang Jun, and 

Lew Morris. The team is working in collaboration with 

Professor Goodman of the Princeton University Observatory. DOE, NSF, and NASA jointly fund the work. ●

At the MRI experiment are, from left, Bob Cutler, Michael Burin, Ethan 

Schartman, and Hantao Ji. The apparatus includes elaborate driving 

mechanisms for the concentric cylinders.

 Above is a rendering of an accretion disk around a massive black hole 

often thought to exist in the center of many galaxies. (NASA)
Page 8 PPPL NEWS • Fall 2004

PPPL’s Cheng, Ji, and Wong

Receive American Physical Society Honors

The American Physical Society (APS) recently honored three scientists at PPPL. PPPL’s Chio Z. “Frank” Cheng 

and King-Lap Wong received the APS 2004 Award for 

Excellence in Plasma Physics Research and Hantao Ji was 

named an APS Fellow. The awards were announced in November at the APS Division of Plasma Physics meeting.

Award for Excellence in Plasma Physics Research

Cheng and Wong were among five scientists to receive the Excellence in Plasma Physics Research Award 

in recognition for work related to the confinement of energetic alpha particles, which is important to fusion energy 

research. (More information about the award and all of the 

recipients is available on the APS web site at http://www.

aps.org/praw/plasma/index.cfm.)

PPPL Director Rob Goldston congratulated Cheng and 

Wong on their ground-breaking research of fundamental 

importance for the ITER project, a major international fusion 

experiment that is the next large step for the development 

of fusion.

Cheng is the Head of the Energetic Particle Physics 

Group and of the Space Plasma Physics Division in PPPL’s 

Theory Department. He is a 1996 PPPL Distinguished Research Fellow and an APS Fellow. Cheng’s area of expertise 

is in theoretical and computational plasma physics with 

applications in fusion research and space physics. He has 

more than 200 publications on laboratory and space plasma 

physics, and has presented more than 40 invited talks at 

major conferences. Cheng received a bachelor’s degree in 

physics from the National Cheng-Kung University, Taiwan, 

in 1969, and a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Iowa 

in 1975. He joined the research staff at PPPL in 1975. He is 

a resident of Belle Mead.

Wong received a bachelor’s degree in physics from The 

Chinese University of Hong Kong in 1968 and a Ph.D. from 

Frank Cheng Hantao Ji King-Lap Wong

the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1975. He worked 

for Columbia University for one year as a research associate, 

joining PPPL’s research staff in 1976. Wong is on long-term 

assignment at General Atomics in San Diego, working on 

electron cyclotron wave heating and current drive experiments on the DIII-D fusion machine. He is an APS Fellow. 

He presently resides in Carmel Valley, San Diego.

APS Fellow

Ji received the lifetime appointment of Fellow in 

recognition of his contributions to the field of plasma physics. The APS rules limit the maximum number of Fellows 

selected each year to be no more than half of one percent 

of the Division membership. “Dr. Ji’s work on fundamental plasma physics forms a key bridge between laboratory 

plasma science and plasma problems of high importance in 

astrophysics,” said Goldston.

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 in 1995. He has been 

conducting experiments to study the physics of magnetic 

reconnection, magnetorotational instability (MRI), and 

other basic physical processes. (Information about magnetic 

reconnection is available on the web at: http://www.pppl.

gov/projects/pages/magnetic_reconnect.html and about MRI 

at: http://www.pppl.gov/publications/pages/pppl_digests.

html.) Ji has published many papers on laboratory studies 

of these subjects. Ji shared the 2003 Kaul Foundation Prize 

for Excellence in Plasma Physics Research and Technology Development given by Princeton University and the 

APS-DPP 2002 Award for Excellence in Plasma Physics 

Research. He is a resident of Plainsboro Township. ●