Vol. 9, No. 2 • WINTER/SPRING 2005

Continued on page 2

MINDS Licensing Agreement Signed

Nuclear Detection Technology Developed by PPPL Could Boost Homeland Security

Princeton University and InSitech, Inc. have signed a licensing agreement for InSitech to commercialize an 

anti-terrorism device developed by the U.S. Department of 

Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL). The 

device, the Miniature Integrated Nuclear Detection System 

(MINDS), would have applications in transportation and 

site security.

Scan for Specific Nuclear Signatures

MINDS would be used to scan moving vehicles, luggage, 

cargo vessels, and the like for specific nuclear signatures 

associated with materials employed in radiological weapons. 

The system could be employed at workplace entrances, post 

offices, tollbooths, airports, and commercial shipping ports, 

as well as in police cruisers, to detect the transportation of 

unauthorized nuclear materials.

“We are very pleased that technology we have developed through our fusion research at PPPL can also make 

an important contribution to Homeland Security. This is 

a very good example of the kind of cooperation that can 

be most effective for the nation,” said PPPL Director Rob 

Goldston.

A team of PPPL researchers led by Charles Gentile 

designed a prototype system and InSitech, through the 

licensing agreement signed March 28, has certain rights to 

the commercial development, manufacture, use, and sale of 

the product.

InSitech is a not-for-profit organization working for the 

U.S. Army to bring government-developed technology to 

market. InSitech’s Chief Executive Officer Timothy N. Teen 

MRI Experiment May Shed Light on Star and Planet Formation

by Anthony DeMeo

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)

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 

Continued on page 3
PPPL NEWS • Winter/Spring 2005 Page 2

MINDS

Continued from page 1

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

said, “We enjoy our relationship with the Princeton-PPPL 

team and are proud of our involvement with MINDS. This 

agreement typifies InSitech’s initiative to transfer federally 

funded technology into the commercial sector.” 

MINDS, which combines many off-the-shelf components with specific nuclear detection software, is capable 

of detecting X-rays, soft gammas, gammas, and neutrons. 

The system is specifically designed to identify, in real-time, 

gamma emitting radionuclides at levels slightly above 

background and in radiologically noisy environments. 

Radionuclides can be recognized and differentiated from 

one another since each has a distinctive energy signature 

or “fingerprint.”

MINDS compares the energy spectrum of the detected 

radionuclide with the spectra of particular radiological 

materials that might be used in weapons.While InSitech 

proceeds with commercialization of the product, PPPL will 

continue to develop the library for MINDS, collecting data 

for radionuclides.

Three Different Radiation Detectors

The MINDS system is configured to employ a lap-top 

computer and can also be used with other types of processors for the storage of radionuclide databases. The unit uses 

proprietary detection software, and three different radiation detectors, or heads, to cover a wide gamut of nuclear 

signatures. It would typically be able to detect radiation 

— dependent on source quantity — from several feet away 

and would identify the type of radiation, but not specifically 

the quantity. System hardware could be configured with one, 

two, or more heads to suit the needs of law enforcement and 

Homeland Security officials. For instance, airport officials 

might be interested in detecting materials such as cobalt or 

cesium that could be used in a “dirty” bomb.

At tollbooths or in police cruisers, the system would be 

tuned to recognize but not sound an alarm for radioactive 

materials with legal uses such as medical radioisotopes. It 

will be programmed to respond only to signatures of threatspecific radionuclides, greatly minimizing false positive 

alarms. MINDS also would be able to detect some shielded 

materials since shielding often results in the generation of 

X-rays of certain energies.

“The MINDS system is a sophisticated solution that 

can identify — not just detect — in real time, one-one-billionth of the material required in a dirty bomb, yet it is cost 

effective, easy to use, and can be deployed as a stand-alone 

device or as part of a larger system. MINDS has achieved 

successful results in field trials, and we have recently secured 

extended demonstrations, and full-scale deployments, with 

customers and government agencies to further validate this 

compelling breakthrough,” said Teen.

Once a unit is in place, law enforcement agencies would 

incorporate it into an alerting system. For example, it could 

be set up at a tollbooth so that when a suspicious vehicle is 

detected, a picture would be taken, and an e-mail or wireless 

alert would be sent to authorities. The vehicle could then be 

stopped a short distance beyond the tollbooth.

For more information about MINDS, go to www.pppl.

gov, select publications, and then go to PPPL Digests and 

choose, “PPPL Researchers Develop Anti-terrorism Device.”

The MINDS team from PPPL includes Bill Davis, Charlie 

Gentile, Steve Langish, Dana Mastrovito, Lewis Meixler, 

and Kenny Silber. l

At a recent meeting at PPPL to discuss upcoming MINDS deployments 

for homeland security applications are, from left, PPPL’s Lewis 

Meixler; Picatinny Arsenal’s Tom McWilliams; PPPL’s Kenny Silber, Bill 

Davis, Steve Langish, and Charlie Gentile; Advanced Logic Systems’ 

Kaydon Stanzione and Michael Fisher; and InSitech’s Roger Adams.
PPPL NEWS • Winter/Spring 2005 Page 3

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?

Unique PPPL Apparatus

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 instabilMRI

Continued from page 1

ity (MRI), a disruptive plasma process, plays a major role 

in accretion. Unlike most PPPL experiments, MRI 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 have built 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 of 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.

Better Understand Phenomena

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 Schatman and Wei Liu, with 

technical and engineering support from PPPL’s 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. The 

work is being funded jointly by the Department of Energy, 

the National Science Foundation, and NASA. l

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

often thought to exist in the center of many galaxies. (NASA)
PPPL NEWS • Winter/Spring 2005 Page 4

PPPL-Led Team Completes Work on JET Alpha Detector

At left is the JET Alpha Detector built at PPPL with (clockwise from 

left front) Dave Miller, Bob Ellis, Doug Darrow, and Joe Frangipani. 

Studying the behavior of alpha particles produced in fusion plasmas is of paramount importance for ITER and 

other advanced fusion devices in which these particles are 

expected to be the predominant source of plasma heating. 

An international team led by PPPL physicist Doug Darrow 

recently completed work at PPPL on the construction of 

diagnostic equipment that will be used to measure alpha 

particles and other energetic particles ejected from the plasma 

in the Joint European Torus (JET) in Culham, England. The 

alpha detector was shipped to JET this spring.

Neutrons and alpha particles are produced when deuterium (D) and tritium (T) ions fuse. The neutrons carry away 

about 80 percent of the fusion energy produced, the alphas 

the rest. The positively charged alpha particles (helium-4 

nuclei) can impart energy to the plasma, heating it. “PPPL 

did a good bit of work on alpha detection for the deuterium-tritium experiments on TFTR [Tokamak Fusion Test 

Reactor]. A lot of good results came out of that work, and 

that’s what sold JET on getting into this in earnest,” noted 

Darrow, who was involved in the TFTR measurements.

Built at PPPL

The diagnostic equipment, built at PPPL, is one of 

two different kinds of JET alpha particle detectors being 

supplied under a collaboration among researchers from 

the UKAEA, the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics 

(IPP) in Greifswald, Germany, and the Colorado School of 

Mines in the U.S. PPPL’s effort began in early 2002. Since 

then, the Laboratory has received about $1.5 million from 

the Department of Energy for the design and fabrication of 

one of the two detectors. In addition, the IPP has invested 

roughly $1 million for the design and fabrication of the 

second detector at Greifswald.

The collaboration’s primary interest is the measurement of alpha particles that exit the plasma before having a 

chance to heat it. “Alphas and other energetic particles can 

drive instabilities in the plasma that cause the alphas to be 

ejected. Studies on JET using these lost alpha diagnostics 

will provide new insights into the causes and nature of 

instabilities driven by alpha particles and other energetic 

particles,” said Darrow. l

NASA Talk Highlights Annual Safety Forum

Sheila Widnall (at right) delivered the keynote talk, “Lessons Learned from the Columbia Accident Investigation 

and How They Apply to the R&D Environment,” at 

PPPL’s Fourth Annual Safety Forum on February 18. 

Widnall is a professor of aeronautics and astronautics at 

the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The ES&H 

and Infrastructure Support Department hosted the 

forum, which included a series of presentations aimed 

at improving workplace safety. 

by Anthony DeMeo
PPPL NEWS • Winter/Spring 2005 Page 5

PPPL “Artists” Win Art of Science Competition

Above, Andrew Post-Zwicker (left) and Elle Starkman with their 

collaborative art, “Plasma Table." At right is the first-place winning 

photo, which features a dust cloud of silica microspheres suspended 

in a plasma and illuminated by laser light. 

PPPL’s Elle Starkman and Andrew Post-Zwicker won the first-place prize May 3 for their photographic 

submission, “Plasma Table,” in the “Art of Science” 

Competition at Princeton University. The winning piece, 

for which the artists received a $250 prize, is displayed 

at the Friend’s Center for Engineering Education, along 

with many of the other top submissions out of more than 

200 received. Starkman is PPPL’s staff photographer and 

Post-Zwicker is the Head of PPPL’s Science Education.

The competition was launched by students and faculty 

from a number of departments seeking entries of images 

that came directly from research in science and engineering 

or works by artists incorporating tools and concepts from 

science. Images were submitted by students, faculty, and 

staff from 16 departments across campus. The contest and 

exhibition were created to get people at Princeton who 

use imagery as part of their research more involved in 

the visual arts program and in the arts in general. l

Female Students Flock to PPPL for Conference

Nearly 200 female eighth through 12th graders came to PPPL on March 11 for the fourth “Expand Your 

Horizons Mini-conference for Young Women in Science, 

Mathematics, and Technology.”

“It’s a great opportunity to encourage science and 

engineering careers for young women,” said Christine 

Ritter, PPPL Science Education Program Administrator and organizer of the event. The conference included 

talks by women in the sciences and exhibits. Exhibitors 

were from the FMC Corporation, Mercer County Community College, the N.J. Department of Environmental 

Protection’s Division of Watershed Management, NJIT, 

Princeton University, and PPPL. Speakers were from the 

Fashion Institute of Technology, Johnson & Johnson, the 

N.J. Department of Environmental Protection, New York 

University, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. l

At left, West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South student Sumona Bhattacharya (right) watches Becky Barak, of the Princeton 

Environmental Institute at Princeton University, make “clouds in a 

bottle” to demonstrate that cloud formation is based upon changes 

in temperature and pressure. 
PPPL NEWS • Winter/Spring 2005 Page 6

PPPL Principal Research Physicist Martha Redi recently received the Outstanding Mentor 

Award from the Department of Energy’s Office of 

Science. The citation, which honors Redi for her 

mentoring efforts in 2004, reads, “In recognition 

of your dedication as a mentor, to share knowledge 

and to inspire and instill confidence in the next 

generation of scientists and engineers by setting 

high expectations, seeking for creative solutions, 

and immersing inquisitive minds in the world of 

science.” Redi is the only PPPL recipient of the 

2004 award, which is given through the Office of 

Science Undergraduate Research Program.

At right, PPPL Director Rob Goldston (left) 

and PPPL Deputy Director Rich Hawryluk (right) 

congratulate Redi on receiving the award. l

Redi Receives DOE Mentoring Award

PPPL Garners Small Business Administration Award

On May 19, Representatives of the U.S. Small Business 

Administration (SBA) presented 

PPPL Director Rob Goldston 

with an “Award of Distinction” 

in recognition of the Laboratory’s 

“Outstanding Public Service” in 

providing subcontracting opportunities and assistance to small 

business. This is the second time 

the Laboratory has received the 

award. Less than two percent of 

SBA’s portfolio of large contractors are active recipients of this 

award. Denise Benjamin, SBA’s 

Acting Associate Director for 

Government Contracting, said 

in a letter to Goldston, “I especially wish to commend Arlene 

White, Small Business Liaison 

Officer [at PPPL]. She shows 

exceptionally strong support of 

the company’s small business 

program and plays a significant 

role in promoting opportunities 

for small businesses.” l

At the award ceremony are (from left) Small Business Administration's Allison Randolph, Princeton 

University’s Michelle Christy, PPPL’s Arlene White, Small Business Administration's William Manger, 

PPPL’s Rodney Templon and Rob Goldston, Small Business Administration's Larry Hansen and 

Janette Fasano, PPPL’s Ed Winkler, and U.S. Department of Energy’s Greg Pitonak. The award is on 

display in the Director’s Office lobby.
PPPL NEWS • Winter/Spring 2005 Page 7

Princeton Awards Cylinder

In March, PPPL's Dave Cylinder was among five Princeton University staff members to receive the 2004 President’s Achievement 

Award in recognition for their exceptional performance. Above is 

Princeton President Shirley Tilghman (left) with Cylinder.

IEEE Honors Davidson for Beam Physics Work

I

n recognition of his important contributions to beam 

physics, PPPL’s Ronald C. Davidson has been selected 

to receive the Particle Accelerator Science and Technology 

(PAST) Award for 2005.

Davidson is being honored for “pioneering contributions 

to the theory of charged particle beams with intense self 

fields, including fundamental studies of nonlinear dynamics 

and collective processes.” Davidson received the award on 

May 18 during the biennial Particle Accelerator Conference 

in Knoxville, Tenn. The PAST Technical Committee of the 

IEEE [Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers] 

Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society sponsors the award.

The PAST Award nomination letter noted Davidson’s 

seminal research in the physics of intense charged particle 

beams and one-component nonneutral plasmas, as well as 

his important contributions to graduate education and the 

training of research scientists, and his enthusiastic community 

service and scientific management skills.

Davidson is a professor of Astrophysical Sciences at 

Princeton University and the Deputy Director of the Virtual 

National Laboratory (VNL) for Heavy Ion Fusion, a collaborative effort among PPPL, Lawrence Berkeley National 

Laboratory, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. 

At PPPL, he is Deputy Head of the Theory Department and 

Head of the Beam Dynamics and Nonneutral Plasma DiviRonald C. Davidson sion. l

PPPL Honors Marsala

PPPL engineer Robert 

Marsala (at right) received the PPPL Distinguished Engineering 

Fellow Award in November. The Lab honored Marsala for significant contributions 

to the advancement 

of plasma science and 

electrical engineering 

technology. Marsala 

was cited for his technical ability, creativity, 

and resourcefulness, 

as well as for a long 

history of innovative 

contributions in the 

design, fabrication, 

operation, and maintenance of electronic 

systems that have 

proven critical to the 

high performance, safe, and reliable operation of many fusion experiments at PPPL.
Step Options Division at 

the Laboratory. He came 

to PPPL in 1973 after 

serving as a professor of 

physics at the University 

of Wisconsin and was 

Deputy Director of the 

Laboratory from 1991 

to 1997. From 1986 to 

1991, he was Head of 

the Tokamak Fusion Test 

Reactor project and of 

Experimental Physics in 

the Research Department, 

and prior to that headed 

many experiments.

I

n recognition of their exceptional research contributions 

to and leadership in magnetic confinement fusion science, PPPL’s Dale Meade and Ned Sauthoff have been 

elected Fellows of the American Association for the 

Advancement of Science (AAAS). New Fellows were 

honored in February in Washington, D.C., at the AAAS 

Ned Sauthoff

Fellows Forum, a part of 

the association’s annual 

meeting.

PPPL Director Rob 

Goldston said, “We are 

very pleased that the 

AAAS has chosen to 

honor two of the leaders 

of our Laboratory. Dale 

and Ned both have long 

records of scientific accomplishment and leadership, and this award is 

very well deserved.”

Meade is Program 

Head of the PPPL OffSite Research Department and leads the Next Dale Meade

American Association for the Advancement 

of Science Names Meade and Sauthoff Fellows

Sauthoff is a Principal Research Physicist at PPPL 

and a leader in the coordination of international fusion 

research activities. He was recently named U.S. ITER 

Project Manager. Sauthoff has headed numerous departments at PPPL, including the Off-Site Research Department, Plasma Science and Technology Department, 

Physics Department, Experimental Projects Department, 

and Computer Division. l

Cheng, Ji, and Wong Receive

American Physical Society Honors

Frank Cheng Hantao Ji King-Lap Wong

The American Physical Society (APS) recently honored three scientists at PPPL. 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. APS officials announced the honorees during 

the society’s Division of Plasma Physics annual meeting, 

held in Savannah, Georgia, in November.

Cheng and Wong were among five scientists to receive 

the Excellence in Plasma Physics Research Award in recognition “for the theoretical discovery and experimental 

identification of toroidicity induced alfven eigenmodes.” 

This work relates to the confinement of energetic alpha 

particles, which is important to fusion energy research. The 

other recipients are William Heidbrink and Liu Chen, of 

the University of California, Irvine, and Edward Strait, of 

General Atomics in San Diego. The annual award consists of 

$5,000 to be divided equally among recipients, and includes 

a certificate citing the contributions made.

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. l

PPPL NEWS • Winter/Spring 2005 Page 8