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Fall 2013
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory

An e-newsletter for the friends of  the U.S. Department of Energy's Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, a national collaborative center for fusion and plasma research. 

- In This Issue -

PPPL founder: An adventurer & a visionary

Lyman Spitzer Jr. isn’t a household name but he should be. The physicist and founder of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, whose 100th birthday would be in 2014, was a visionary and an intrepid explorer. He climbed mountains and made pioneering discoveries in plasma physics. And we have him to thank for those beautiful images of the universe from the Hubble Space Telescope! 

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Save the date: Science on Saturday starts Jan. 11

PPPL’s popular science lectures are starting again on Jan. 11 with a full schedule of great talks by scientists around the country on cutting-edge topics from “The Physics of Cancer” to MOOC’s (massive open online courses). The talks begin at 9:30 a.m. but plan to arrive at least half an hour to an hour early because seats fill up fast.

 

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Mike Williams faces a $94 million challenge

The head of engineering and infrastructure at PPPL is a problem solver who is overseeing the Laboratory’s biggest project: the $94 million upgrade of the National Spherical Torus Experiment. 

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A remote control plasma device debuts

From a 50,000-degree Celsius plasma you can manipulate from your living room to a new way of using airport screening technology, PPPL physicists are at the cutting edge of magnetic fusion and plasma science research. Many of them recently presented their research results at a gathering of 1,500 scientists at a national conference in Colorado. 

PPPL physicists David Gates and Charles Skinner also were inducted as APS fellows, an honor bestowed on only one half of one percent of all American Physical Society members each year.  http://www.pppl.gov/news/2013/10/two-pppl-physicists-elected-receive-prestigious-honor.

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A new egg pasteurization method hatches

Eggs are healthy and nutritious but raw eggs that contain salmonella bacteria were responsible for more than a thousand people getting sick in the U.S. in 2012. Now researchers at PPPL have teamed up with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to solve the problem using the same technology that lets you tune in to your radio. 

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Recycling program turns green to gold

PPPL's sustainable purchases of everything from cleaning products to carpeting make it green enough to be gold. At least that’s the way the U.S. Department of Energy sees it after giving PPPL a gold GreenBuy award for the second year. 

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PPPL technology plays a role on hit TV show

Magnetic fusion and related technologies have sprung up everywhere from “Cloud Atlas” to “The Big Bang Theory.” The latest example was a nuclear detection system developed at PPPL called MINDS, which served as a major plot point in a popular TV show. 

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PPPL in the news

From research into how to pasteurize eggs to an interview with Lab Director Stewart Prager, PPPL has been all over the media. Other recent news coverage included PPPL’s America Recycles Day, a Boy Scout STEM Merit Badge Fair hosted by PPPL and PPPL’s community outreach efforts during Hurricane Sandy last year. 

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