VOL. 3, NO. 3 • WINTER 2000

Continued on page 3

NSTX Produces One Megampere

Plasma Current Ahead of Schedule

Milestone is Reached Nine Months Early

By Anthony DeMeo

On December 14, the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) at the U.S. Department of

Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL)

produced a one million ampere plasma current — a new

world record for a spherical torus device. Producing this

plasma current sets the stage for the Laboratory to create

and study plasma conditions that are relevant to the

production of fusion energy.

Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson said, “I’m delighted that the NSTX experiment has met this technical

milestone nine months ahead of schedule. We can now

begin the scientific investigations that the machine is

designed to do.”

schedule. It is also a great example of PPPL and collaborating researchers working together closely for the success of the project. My congratulations to all involved,”

said Goldston.

Shaped Like a Sphere

NSTX, which began operating a year ago, is designed

to test the physics principles of spherical torus plasmas. It

produces a plasma that is shaped like a sphere with a hole

through its center. This configuration may have several

advantages, a major one being the ability to confine a

higher plasma pressure for a given magnetic field strength.

This could lead to a less expensive development path for

fusion energy.

A large current flows inside the NSTX plasma and

heats the plasma in the same way the current heats an

electric toaster or light bulb. This plasma current also

produces a magnetic field so that the resulting magnetic

field line spirals around inside the plasma. The spherical

torus provides a special shape in these magnetic field lines

that is calculated to contain high-temperature plasmas

efficiently.

The production of a one-million-ampere plasma current on NSTX required the appropriate plasma shaping,

such as the width and height of the cross section of the

plasma torus. Proper plasma shaping helps eliminate

plasma instabilities. By October of 1999, the NSTX team

had produced all of the desirable plasma shapes that they

plan to use on NSTX, also a key aspect of preparation for

research.

NSTX is a proof-of-principle experiment — a relatively inexpensive device, which will create conditions

“I’m delighted that the NSTX

experiment has met this technical

milestone nine months ahead of

schedule. We can now begin the

scientific investigations that the

machine is designed to do.”

—Bill Richardson

One million amperes is the highest plasma current

ever produced in a spherical torus device. The previous

record is 310,000 amperes achieved in a smaller spherical

torus called START — the Small Tight Aspect Ratio

Tokamak — built by Culham Fusion Laboratory of U.K.

PPPL Director Rob Goldston lauded staff for achieving the milestone early. “This is a great example of the

physics and engineering teams working closely together

to bring about an important milestone well ahead of

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

NEWS

DOE Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
PPPL NEWS • Winter 2000 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.

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 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

PPPL’s Funding Increased for FY 2000

By Anthony DeMeo

This fiscal year, PPPL is receiving approximately $63

million in federal funding for research in fusion

energy and plasma science — a 21 percent increase over

the prior year.

“This funding increase is a wonderful boost to our

program. Thanks to the support of Congressmen Rodney

Frelinghuysen and Rush Holt and Senators Frank

Lautenberg and Robert Torricelli, we will be able to

accelerate our work on fusion energy and begin the

removal of the successful Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor

(TFTR) to make way for new research,” noted PPPL

Director Robert J. Goldston.

The new funding was effective October 1, with the

start of the government’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2000. It is part

of approximately $249 million provided for the U.S.

Fusion Energy Sciences Program in the FY 2000 budget.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is responsible

for overseeing the Fusion Energy Sciences Program and

provides PPPL’s funding. The budget for fusion research

was $222.6 million in FY 1999. In providing the increase

for FY 2000, Congress commended DOE for its efforts to

pursue the most promising paths toward producing electricity from fusion. Members also expressed their pleasure with the fusion program’s emphasis on innovation.

In the interior of the sun and other stars, matter is

converted into energy by the fusion, or joining, of nuclei

of light atoms to form heavier elements. At PPPL, physicists use a magnetic field to confine hot, ionized gas,

called plasma, at the temperature and density required for

abundant fusion reactions. Scientists hope to eventually

use the energy produced by fusion for the production of

steam to generate electricity. Compared to fossil fuels and

fission, now used in commercial power plants, fusion

would have distinct advantages, including an inexhaustible fuel supply; no contribution to acid rain or global

warming; and inherent safety, with the minimal use and

production of radioactive materials.

PPPL is one of the world’s leading centers for fusion

research. The funding provided in FY 2000 will allow

Princeton researchers to conduct experiments on the

National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX), while

proceeding with the disassembly of TFTR. One of the

world’s largest and most advanced fusion experiments,

TFTR completed 14 years of world-record-breaking research in 1997. Its dismantling and removal will take

three years and cost $46 million. Of this total, $9.9 million

is included in PPPL’s FY 2000 funding. The space

occupied by TFTR will be available for a future fusion

experiment.

Knowledge gained from research on TFTR is being

put to use on NSTX, which began operation in February,

1999. This new device is being used to study an innovative plasma confinement concept, which could lead to

smaller, more economical, fusion power plants. PPPL

scientists will continue to develop other magnetic confinement alternatives, including advanced tokamaks and

compact stellarators, while maintaining their collaborations with researchers at other fusion laboratories in the

U.S. and abroad. Laboratory scientists will continue to

apply knowledge gained in fusion research to near-term

applications, including space propulsion, textile manufacturing, materials science, and solar physics. ●
Page 3 PPPL NEWS • Winter 2000

Continued from page 1

suitable for the study of fusion-energy-relevant plasma

behavior and advanced plasma heating and current-drive

techniques. It is not planned to produce significant fusion

energy in this device.

Produce High-quality Scientific Results

NSTX Program Director Martin Peng said, “The

goals of the next few years of research on NSTX are to

produce high-quality scientific results and excellent plasma

performance. If successful, NSTX will have an impact on

the design of future devices. These machines would

extend the temperatures, densities, and other plasma

parameters to the levels necessary for fusion energy

production.” ●

Megampere

Sauthoff Elected President of IEEE-USA

Ned Sauthoff,

Head of the

Laboratory’s Offsite Research Department, is the President-Elect of the Institute of Electrical

and Electronic Engineers-USA (IEEEUSA) for the year

2000.

Sauthoff is the

fourth IEEE-USA

President directly

elected by the IEEE’s

U.S. members. His

post is a three-year asNed Sauthoff

signment to the IEEE’s Board of Directors: President-Elect

in 2000, President in 2001, and Past-President in 2002.

Goals as President-Elect

Sauthoff said among his goals as President-Elect, he

will work to enhance the effectiveness of IEEE-USA’s

member services and career products; advocate portable

pensions, continuing education, and intellectual property

protection; oppose employment discrimination; and exploit the breadth and depth of IEEE perspectives to

synthesize balanced IEEE-USA positions in both career

and technology policy areas.

“This position gives me an opportunity to serve and to

help the members of IEEE-USA make a difference,” he said.

During his campaign, Sauthoff stated, “The IEEEUSA must serve the U.S. members within IEEE’s global

context, enabling U.S. members to achieve life-long

career vitality and contributing to the development of

sound U.S. public policy. Its member services and activities in non-technical professional development, careers,

and technology policy complement IEEE’s position as the

preeminent source of electrotechnology information.”

Sauthoff has participated in many activities and served

in several capacities at IEEE-USA, the most recent being as

a member of the group’s Board of Directors and as IEEEUSA Vice Chairman of Technology Policy Activities.

Sauthoff came to PPPL in 1975 after receiving a

Ph.D. in astrophysics from Princeton University. He

received a master’s degree in nuclear engineering in 1972

and a bachelor’s degree in physics in 1971, both from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Prior to his present

position, Sauthoff had been Head of the Laboratory’s

Plasma Science and Technology Department. He is a

Princeton resident.

PPPL Director Rob Goldston said, “Dr. Sauthoff has

a superb record of scientific and managerial accomplishment at PPPL. I am glad that his capabilities have been

recognized by the IEEE-USA, and I am sure that he will

make very important contributions, while continuing to

contribute to the Laboratory.”

Congratulations, Ned! ●

The National Spherical Torus Experiment at PPPL.
PPPL NEWS • Winter 2000 Page 4

Anyone touring Circuit City or The Wiz cannot help

being drawn to the myriad of video entertainment

systems for sale. Television has come a long way from the

days of 10-inch tubes, offering snowy black-and-white

images, to today’s 50-inch rear-screen projection systems. But the image quality of projection TV is inferior to

that of picture tubes, and both systems require a considerable amount of space.

All of this is about to change with the advent of High

Definition Television (HDTV), in particular, the flatpanel, hang-on-the-wall televisions that have been a staple

of science fiction and viewers’ fantasies. At first glance,

a plasma set is arresting. Anyone spying it invariably

walks up and peers around the back to be sure there isn’t

an attached piece of equipment built into the wall somewhere.

The work of two PPPL physicists, one an experimentalist and the other a theoretician, may lead to flat-panel

displays that are larger, last longer, provide higher resolution images, and are less expensive. “I expect plasma

display panels to fill a large segment of the market

beginning in the next decade,” noted PPPL experimentalist Hyeon Park. For about one year, Park and PPPL

theorist Hideo Okuda have been working on an experimental diagnostic method and a computational model

that will aid designers of flat-panel displays to better

characterize the plasmas used in these

in enormous display panels, such as those mounted on

buildings in New York City’s Times Square. At the

present time, small LEDs cannot compete economically

with LCDs. Because of fabrication difficulties and cost,

neither LEDs nor LCDs are economically viable for the

size of screens required for entertainment and business

presentation applications. These are the provinces of

plasma displays, which involve relatively simple fabrication processes compared to the other flat panels.

Plasma Cells

Sony’s Plasmatron display or Plasma Addressed Liquid Crystal is a large-scale LCD in which the intricate thin

film transistor array has been replaced by plasma cells.

Induced charges at the surface of a plasma cell set up an

electric field that aligns the liquid crystals, allowing them

to transmit light. White light, incident from the rear of the

display, is filtered by the liquid crystal. Only one of the

three primary colors — red, green, or blue — is allowed

to pass through it to the front surface of the display. The

strength of the field determines which primary color is

admitted. Colors comprising the image are determined by

mixing the primary colors from different cells.

In all other commercially available plasma displays,

a plasma is created by energizing electrodes directly

underneath the front glass plate of the display (see diagram)

Physicists Work to Improve TV Technology

By Anthony DeMeo

From left are PPPL experimentalist Hyeon Park and PPPL theorist Hideo Okuda with

students Carl Li and Jill Foley. The group is working on the plasma device similar to the

Plasma Display Panel Cell, which is on the table.

devices.

Presently, most flat displays employ one of three technologies to form

the image — liquid crystals, light emitting diodes, or plasmas. Further down

the road are more sophisticated technologies, including organic and biochemical displays. Liquid crystal displays (LCDs) are currently dominating

the small display market where screen

size is 15 inches or less, such as smallscreen TVs, toy game monitors, and laptop computers. LCDs rely on a sophisticated switching technique that uses an

array of thin film transistors to set up

electric fields which allow the normally

opaque liquid crystals to transmit light.

Thin film transistor arrays are costly in

the larger sizes desired for desk-top

monitors and entertainment systems.

Light emitting diodes, or LEDs, are used
Page 5 PPPL NEWS • Winter 2000

where Xenon gas is mixed with a buffer gas (inert gases

such as neon and helium) to optimize ultraviolet emission. When ultraviolet light emitted by the plasma strikes

a phosphor, visible light is generated. The color of the

light depends on the phosphor contained in a particular

plasma cell.

The display screen is comprised of pixels, which are

groups of three plasma cells, one for each of the primary

colors. The color output of a pixel is determined by the

combination of cells triggered and the intensity to which

each cell is energized. The resolution of the image ultimately depends upon the number of pixels it contains. To

meet a true HDTV condition, a screen must contain at

least 1,200 pixels along a horizontal line of the screen and

900 in the vertical direction. An easy way to satisfy this

condition is to make the screen larger with the present cell

size. However, market analysts expect the demand to be

greatest for flat screens measuring 40 inches or less.

Consequently, a 50 percent reduction in the size of the

pixels is necessary for manufacturers who wish to dominate the flat-panel TV market in the coming decades.

According to Park, “The clarity of state-of-the-art

plasma displays is marginal. The electrical process is

extremely inefficient. As a result, plasma displays are

dimmer than conventional television sets. To meet the

clarity requirements for true HDTV, a plasma display

panel must sustain or improve the brightness in a smaller

plasma cell, so that the gray scale and resolution can

compete with HDTV based on cathode ray tubes and

other techniques. As plasma physicists, we are not trained

to fabricate complex TV sets, but we do have knowledge

and ideas to improve the efficiency of plasma discharges

allowing true plasma display panel HDTV at an affordable price.”

Better Theoretical Understanding Needed

Park noted that there are many computational models

available for plasmas used in displays, but none of these

has been verified by direct measurement of plasma parameters. Futhermore, these models, which are based on

plasma mobility and diffusion, may not be adequate for

the kinds of discharges used in displays. A better theoretical understanding that can accurately predict performance is essential.

Park and Okuda believe that experimental and theoretical techniques developed for fusion research can be

applied. But the challenge is substantial. Display plasmas

Typical Plasma Display

continued on page 6
PPPL NEWS • Winter 2000 Page 6

Cross-section of a plasma cell of a typical plasma display panel. MgO is magnesium oxide.

are not only miniscule, but also highly transient. Whereas

the size of fusion plasmas may be measured in meters,

those found in a display have dimensions of 200 microns

or less. Fusion plasmas last a few seconds, while those in

a display have about a one-microsecond lifetime.

Okuda is developing a computational code which

will provide a realistic model that can predict the

brightness of the ultraviolet light produced by the

plasma. To do this, he must determine the density and

energy distributions of the Xenon ions and the electrons comprising the plasma. Each cell contains a few

million electrons in a plasma pulse of one-microsecond duration. Okuda’s calculations require the development of a kinetic model to compute the energy

distribution in a transient plasma — one that never has

time to reach steady state. Okuda is developing a

technique that can handle this by clamping many particles into super-particles, thereby reducing computational time considerably. “With this method, as the

size of the plasma display cell becomes smaller, it

actually becomes easier to model the device on a

computer,” Okuda said.

Tests of Okuda’s theories will require precise, direct

measurements of electron density in a one-microsecond

plasma measuring 200 micrometers — a formidable task.

Most of the conventional direct diagnostic methods cannot be applied. Fortunately, Park has invented a new

interferometric technique, which has a potential to make

the necessary measurements. Park employs a visiblelight laser, rather than longer-wavelength (microwave or

far-infrared lasers) conventionally used for the range of

plasma density expected in a plasma display cell. The

short-pulse, continuous-wave visible laser not only allows measurements to be made on the tiny cells of a

plasma display, but provides adequate spatial resolution,

because the visible beam can be focused to a spot much

smaller than cell size. Park’s method, in principle, has the

potential to determine both the electron density and

temperature of the plasma cell.

Plasma displays are the most vivid example of what

plasmas can do for people and society in addition to

producing fusion energy. “At this point, a plasma TV is as

expensive as a new car, and therefore limited to those who

can afford it. Since plasma technology is evolving fast,

plasma displays will eventually become a mainstream

product for consumers not interested in deciding between

a new car and a new television. Therefore, long-term

research on the fundamentals of a plasma display cell for

true HDTV is inevitable in order to make a quantum jump

from the current generation of plasma display cells. It is

fitting that PPPL, one of the world’s leading centers for

plasma science and technology, plays a prominent role in

the development of this highly visible application,” said

Park.●
Page 7 PPPL NEWS • Printed on recycled paper. Winter 2000

FPA Recognizes Stix and Williams

The Fusion Power Associates (FPA) Board of Directors recently honored PPPL’s Thomas Stix and

Michael Williams. Stix, Professor Emeritus of Astrophysical Sciences at Princeton University and former

Associate Director for Academic Affairs at PPPL, received the FPA’s 1999 Distinguished Career Award.

Williams, Head of PPPL’s Engineering and Technical

Infrastructure Department, received the group’s 1999

Excellence in Fusion Engineering Award.

PPPL Director Rob Goldston said of the award recipients, “Tom Stix administered the Princeton University

Graduate Program in Plasma Physics when I came as a

student in 1972, and Mike Williams was the chief engineer under my thesis advisor, Harold Eubank. So I have

a strong basis for saying that the contributions of these

two gentlemen to the field of fusion science and engineering have been pivotal to the success of our Laboratory.”

Stix, cited by the FPA for “outstanding accomplishments throughout a distinguished career,” is one of the

pioneers of the U.S. fusion program. He received a Ph.D.

in physics from Princeton University in 1953 and has

spent his career working on plasma physics and fusion at

PPPL since that time. In 1962, he became Professor of

Astrophysical Sciences at Princeton University. Before

retiring from PPPL in 1996, he held many positions at the

Laboratory, including Co-head of the Experimental Division, Associate Director for Academic Affairs, and Head

of the Basic Plasma Physics Group. He has served on

numerous advisory committees over the years and is a

Fellow of the American Physical Society. He is best

known for his outstanding original contributions to the

physics of plasma waves. His 1962 text, “The Theory of

Plasma Waves,” is one of the classics of the fusion field.

In presenting the award to Stix, Fusion Power Associates President Stephen O. Dean, stated, “In addition to

his many technical contributions, Tom is also known and

respected among his colleagues for his objectivity in

judging the work of others and his interest in the human

aspects of our field, including the training of students and

the plight of less fortunate scientists in other countries.”

Stix is the sixth person from PPPL to receive the

FPA’s Distinguished Career Award since it was created

in 1987. Former Directors Melvin B. Gottlieb, Harold

Furth, and Lyman Spitzer, Jr., former Deputy Director for

Technical Operations Don Grove, and former Associate

Director for Research Paul Rutherford are past recipients

of the award.

Williams, who was honored by the FPA for “very

important contributions to fusion engineering and in

recognition of impressive leadership qualities,” is Deputy

Director of the NSTX Project. He came to PPPL in 1976

after graduating magna cum laude from Rutgers University with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. At

PPPL, he led several project teams and served as the

Deputy Project Head of the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor

from 1992 until the project was closed down in 1997.

Williams has been Head of the PPPL Engineering and

Technical Infrastructure Department since 1991, where

he is responsible for managing all technical engineering

facilities, environmental engineering, and computing resources at the Laboratory. Williams is the recipient of

PPPL’s 1999 Kaul Foundation Prize for Excellence in

Plasma Physics and Technology Development and of the

1993 Fusion Technology Award from the Institute of

Electrical and Electronic Engineers-Nuclear and Plasma

Sciences Section’s Standing Committee on Fusion Technology.

Outstanding Technical Accomplishment

The FPA Excellence in Fusion Engineering Awards

were established in 1987 in memory of Professor David

J. Rose of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a

pioneer in the field of fusion engineering. The awards are

presented to individuals relatively early in their careers

who have shown both outstanding technical accomplishment and potential to become exceptionally influential

leaders in the fusion field. Past PPPL recipients of the

engineering award include Charles Kessel, Wayne

Reiersen, and Michael A. Ulrickson.

FPA President Stephen O. Dean presented the group’s

awards to this year’s recipients in October during the

FPA’s 20th Anniversary Meeting and Symposium in

Washington, D.C. This year, J. Bryan Taylor and Masaji

Yoshikawa joined Stix in receiving FPA Distinguished

Career Awards. P. F. Peterson joined Williams in garnering the FPA Excellence in Engineering Award. ●

Thomas Stix Michael Williams
PPPL NEWS • Winter 2000 Page 8

Three Garner PPPL’s 1999 Kaul Prize

The Laboratory Recognizes Physicists Lin and Ono and Engineer Williams

By Patti Wieser

Three researchers at PPPL are the 1999 recipients of

the Kaul Foundation Prize for Excellence in Plasma

Physics and Technology Development. The honorees are

physicists Zhihong Lin and Masayuki Ono and engineer

Michael Williams. The trio accepted the awards during a

ceremony and reception at the Laboratory in October.

Ono and Williams were cited “for their work leading

to the construction of the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) facility ahead of schedule and within

budget.” NSTX began operating a year ago. Ono is the

Project Director for NSTX, as well as the Head of the

NSTX Department, and Williams is Deputy Director of

the Project, as well as Head of PPPL’s Engineering and

Technical Infrastructure Department.

Lin was honored “for performing advanced simulations with unprecedented realism and resolution leading

to results demonstrating the positive impact of modern

massively parallel computers and for outstanding contributions to understanding the physics of sheared zonal

flows.” Lin, a research physicist in PPPL’s Theory Department, is involved in computer simulations relating to

fusion research.

“It is a delight to be able

to recognize an experimental

physicist, an engineer, and a

theoretical physicist this year. Their

accomplishments in bringing NSTX

on line within budget and ahead of

schedule, and in advancing the

state of the art in computational

modeling using massively parallel

processors are truly outstanding.”

— Rob Goldston

“It is a delight to be able to recognize an experimental

physicist, an engineer, and a theoretical physicist this

year. Their accomplishments in bringing NSTX on line

within budget and ahead of schedule, and in advancing

the state of the art in computational modeling using

massively parallel processors are truly outstanding,” said

PPPL Director Rob Goldston. Goldston and Princeton

University Research Board Chair Will Happer presented

the citations to the Kaul Prize recipients.

The Kaul Prize is awarded by Princeton University to

recognize a recent outstanding technical achievement in

plasma physics or technology development by a fulltime, regular employee of PPPL. It includes a cash award

of $2,000 for each of the honorees. 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.

Former PPPL Director Ronald C. Davidson created

the prize by directing that $40,000 of the $100,000 gift he

received as the 1993 recipient of the Award for Excellence in science, education, and physics from the Kaul

Foundation be given to Princeton University to endow the

Kaul Foundation Prize for Excellence. Last year, the Kaul

Foundation gave $60,000 to PPPL to supplement the

endowment for the Laboratory’s Kaul Prize. This is the

third time the prize has been given.

Lin

Lin received a bachelor’s degree in physics from

Beijing University in Beijing, China in 1989. He came to

PPPL in 1990 as a graduate student and joined the

research staff in 1997 after receiving a Ph.D. in plasma

physics from Princeton University in 1996.

Lin said, “This is really an award for the whole

Theory Department in recognizing its groundbreaking

work on the promising frontiers of advanced scientific

computing. The excellent progress in this area of research

has benefited from many key contributions from both

inside and outside PPPL.”

Ono

Ono came to PPPL as a graduate student in 1973 after

receiving a bachelor’s degree in physics from the California Institute of Technology. In 1978, he received a Ph.D.

in plasma physics from Princeton University and joined

the research staff at PPPL. Since 1978, he has led a

number of research project teams at the Laboratory,

including those for the Advanced Concept Torus-I, the
Page 9 PPPL NEWS • Winter 2000

Current Drive Experiment, and the Current Drive Experiment-Upgrade. Ono, a faculty member of the Princeton

University Astrophysical Sciences Program, is the author

of more than 170 scientific papers and is a 1995 PPPL

Distinguished Research Fellow.

Ono said, “I am very happy and honored to receive the

Kaul Prize on behalf of the NSTX Project Team for

accomplishing the NSTX Construction Project within

budget and ahead of schedule. The facility is running very

well thanks to the excellent engineering and physics

operating team. The performance of the device actually

exceeded my own expectations! Mike and I had a great

time ‘cheerleading’ the NSTX Project effort, but the

From left are PPPL Director Rob Goldston with 1999 Kaul Prize recipients Zhihong Lin,

Michael Williams, and Masayuki Ono, and Princeton University Research Board Chair

Will Happer. Goldston and Happer presented the citations for the Kaul Foundation Prize

for Excellence in Plasma Physics and Technology Development to the recipients during

a ceremony at PPPL in October.

success was truly due to the giant team

work where a large number of people

at all levels — from the Department of

Energy and the DOE’s Office of Fusion Energy Science to PPPL management and staff — contributed tirelessly

in a synergistic fashion. Essentially,

we received much help from every part

of the Laboratory, as well as from

external institutions that are collaborating on the project. I am grateful to be

given this opportunity to serve as the

Director of this great team.”

Williams

Williams came to PPPL in 1976

after graduating magna cum laude from

Rutgers University with a bachelor’s

degree in electrical engineering. At

PPPL, he led several project teams,

served as the Deputy Project Head of

the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor from

1992 until the project was closed down

in 1997, and has been Head of the

PPPL Engineering and Technical Infrastructure Department since 1991. Williams is the recipient of the 1999 Excellence in Fusion Engineering

Award from Fusion Power Associates and of the 1993

Fusion Technology Award from the Institute of Electrical

and Electronic Engineers-Nuclear and Plasma Sciences

Section’s Standing Committee on Fusion Technology.

Upon receiving the prize, Williams said, “The success of NSTX was the result of a lot of hard work by a

number of people. The schedule was tight and the budget

was lean, but the team managed to overcome all the

typical construction and startup obstacles, making steady

progress one day at a time. We are lucky to have had the

support of such a talented and dedicated staff.” ●

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.
PPPL NEWS • Winter 2000 Page 10

On the Road...with PPPL’s Bob Budny

Robert Budny

When European and Asian scientists analyze data

from experiments on tokamak fusion machines,

they often call upon American collaborators for assistance.

One of these collaborators is PPPL physicist Robert

Budny. Budny is presently analyzing data from the Joint

European Torus (JET) in England. “JET is a very interesting opportunity for us because it is one of the largest

fusion experiments in the world and the researchers there

have done an extensive deuterium-tritium (D-T) campaign. The Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor, which operated at PPPL from 1982 to 1997, is the only other fusion

machine to do experiments using D-T as the fuel, so there

is a natural affinity between TFTR and JET,” says Budny,

adding that another similarity between JET and TFTR is

both produce high-temperature plasmas.

Budny, who has collaborated on tokamak research

around the globe, shares his special expertise in code

analysis that he has culled from years of experience on

TFTR. “I model tokamak plasmas to understand what

makes them tick. I use a computer code that inputs many

different measurements, and calculates various quantities

that we cannot measure. This allows us to check the

consistency of the data, for instance to see if quantities

that physics tells us must be conserved actually are. If not,

this tells us that there may be a problem with the data, so

the measuring system needs to be checked. Also, the

results from the code are used as a bridge between the

experimental data and theories,” he explains.

For the past two years, Budny has made six trips to

England annually, spending three weeks at a stretch there.

“I go to JET, talk to people, get data, and bring it back to

PPPL, where I run the analysis. When I get the results, I

send them back to England for use in publications and

further analysis,” he says, relying on e-mail and telephone

calls for communication between his visits.

Budny has also spent considerable time in France

analyzing data from the Tore-Supra tokamak, as well as

in Japan working with researchers on the JT-60U fusion

machine, and with scientists at the TEXTOR tokamak in

Jülich, Germany. In addition, while at PPPL he has

worked with various foreign visitors. “I set up operations

for a Chinese researcher to do simulations of the HL-2A

tokamak in China,” says Budny, who eventually coauthored a paper with the visitor.

Budny is one of several collaborators from PPPL. The

DOE funds the collaborative efforts. ●

PPPL Science Exhibit is

a Big Draw in Seattle

PPPL’s John DeLooper (right) discusses science with

visitors at the Plasma Sciences Expo during the American Physical Society-Division of Plasma Physics (APSDPP) meeting held last November in Seattle. The Expo,

which featured presentations, hands-on displays, and

exhibits, as well as a chance to talk to fusion scientists,

was conducted by the APS-DPP and coincided with the

organization’s annual conference on plasma physics. ●
Page 11 PPPL NEWS • Winter 2000

From left are Laura Cadonati, Princeton University graduate

student; Tom Shutt, Princeton University physics professor; Allan

Nelson, technical staff member at Princeton University; and Richard Fernholz, Princeton University engineer.

Experimental Balloon Tested at PPPL’s High Bay

I

n December, it looked as if you could embark on a trip

“around the world in 180 days” at the motor generator

high bay area of PPPL’s D-site.

At one end stood a gigantic balloon — eight-and-ahalf meters in diameter — made of 36 nylon panels and

inflated with helium for testing.

The balloon, fabricated at Princeton University, will

eventually be transported to Italy for the new Borexino

Solar Neutrino Experiment at the Laboratori Nazionali

del Gran Sasso. The Princeton University Nuclear Physics Group has a major role in the development of this

experiment, which is designed to detect low-energy solar

neutrinos, in real time, using 300 tons of liquid scintillator

in an unsegmented detector. Neutrinos are elusive, subatomic particles.

Members of the borexino team brought the balloon to

PPPL to test it for leaks, measure distortion, and check out

its geometry.The Borexino experiment involves about

100 collaborators from several institutions. Researchers

are from three countries, the U.S., Germany, and Italy.

Ernst de Haas, a former PPPL’er on the project team,

suggested D-site for testing the balloon because of the

large, open space available there.

“They needed a place that had a crane and was free

from any wind,” noted PPPL’s Gene Baker.

Said Princeton University graduate student Laura

Cadonati, “The main goal of Borexino is to measure the

flux of neutrinos from the electron-capture decay of 7Be

in the Sun. This is one of the thermonuclear fusion

reactions that produce the Sun’s energy.” The number of

these neutrinos emanating from the Sun is lower than

expected. Scientists are attempting to understand why.

“The balloon will be filled with a liquid scintillator at

the project site in Italy. It will be the first of its kind able

to detect low-energy solar neutrinos in real-time,” said

Allan Nelson, a member of the Princeton team.

Cadonati noted that the liquid scintillator being used

in Borexino is pseudocumene, a benzene-like organic

liquid, doped with fluorescent compounds. “This mixture

produces light when hit by a particle such as a neutrino;

this light is then detected by an array of photomultiplier

tubes,” she said.

The balloon will go inside a larger balloon that will be

placed into a stainless steel sphere. Pointing to the balloon

at D-site, Princeton University Physics Professor Tom

Shutt said, “This will be the center of the experiment.”

The balloon tested at PPPL is a prototype. It or a new

balloon is expected to go to Italy for futher tests sometime

before the spring.

A special thanks goes to everyone at PPPL who

assisted with the effort by lending tools, giving the team

training on equipment, and conducting safety checks.

PPPL staff who assisted with the effort are: Mounir

Awad, Gene Baker, Larry Dudek, Chris Gilton, Bob

Horner, Jerry Levine, Colin McFarlane, Lewis Meixler,

Bob Parsells, Bill Slavin, and Mike Viola.

Borexino Group

The Borexino Group at Princeton University includes

Jay Benziger, Frank Calaprice, Laura Cadonati, Mark

Chen, Tom Shutt, Ernst de Haas, Richard Fernholz,

Richard Ford, Cristiano Galbiati, Beth Harding, Aldo

Ianni, Steve Kidner, Paul LaMarche (project manager),

Fred Loeser, Allan Nelson, Andrea Pocar, James Semler,

Andrew Sonnenschein, and Charles Sule. ●
PPPL NEWS • Winter 2000 Page 12

In January, PPPL’s Andrew Post-Zwicker hosted a group

of students from The Foxcroft School, an all-girls high

school in Middleburg, Virginia. The day-long visit included

a tour of experimental areas, hands-on experiments in

plasma physics, and a small-group discussion with PPPL

women about careers in science and engineering. The

discussion was led by Science Education Program Acting

Head Pamela Lucas and facilitated by Environmental

Compliance Head Virginia Finley and NSTX software

engineer Gretchen Zimmer. At left, Finley (middle) talks

with the young visitors about how and when she made her

career choice of environmental studies.

PPPL Women Discuss Their Careers with Students

PPPL’s “Green Machines” Awarded

Several PPPL’ers were named “Green Machines” for their recycling efforts during a presentation in the Auditorium for America Recycles

Day (ARD) in November. From left are honorees Penny Neuman, Lisa Carlucci, Dolores Lawson, Jeff Makiel, Dianne Nunes, Mike Byrne,

and Rich Gallagher, who accepted on behalf of Jules Nemeth. Award recipients not pictured are Erik Perry, Larry Sutton, Keith Rule, Sandy

Schmidt, and Jules Nemeth. The ARD activities at the Laboratory also included presentations about the Laboratory’s recycling efforts, area

exhibitors, and a nation-wide Environmental Protection Agency satellite broadcast, “Buying Recycled: The Real Story about Cost,

Availability, and Quality.” The goal of ARD is to increase the purchase of recycled content products and recycling throughout America.

“The Lab has greatly improved in recycling and buying recycled products during the last two years. We look forward to Earth Day 2000

in April,” said PPPL’s Tom McGeachen. McGeachen and PPPL’s Margaret Kevin-King organized the ARD activities.