From Dr. David J. McComas, Princeton University Vice President for PPPL

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the fifth edition of Quest, the PPPL annual research magazine. I am now in my second year as University overseer of the leading U.S. center for the exploration of plasma science and magnetic fusion energy. Having come from the fields of space plasma physics and the engineering of space instrumentation, I share in the excitement that scientific discoveries can bring. As the University’s primary contact with the U.S. Department of Energy on matters related to PPPL, I fully voice our support for the superb research that is done here.

Princeton has managed this laboratory since astrophysicist Lyman Spitzer founded it in 1951. Today we participate in scientific and engineering collaborations that range from unlocking the potential of fusion energy to investigating the role of plasma in fields as ultra-large as astrophysics and as ultra-small as nanotechnology. I look forward to helping to grow these collaborations and to expanding the scientific capabilities of the Laboratory as we continue to advance the world-leading research that these pages describe. Princeton is proud to manage this national laboratory. Our unofficial university motto, “In the nation’s service, and the service of humanity,” is never more appropriate than it is here.

From Dr. Terrence K. Brog, Interim Director of PPPL

The past year has been rewarding and challenging for the Laboratory. The National Spherical Torus Experiment Upgrade (NSTX-U), our flagship fusion facility, delivered important physics and scientific results during its first research campaign. The facility currently is undergoing repair of a magnetic field coil and related components. As this work continues, groundbreaking research on a wide variety of topics remains unabated at PPPL.

Several scientific ventures are coming online. We have completed installing a powerful neutral beam injector to further heat and fuel plasma in the Lithium Tokamak Experiment (LTX), the world’s most advanced experiment using liquid lithium walls to improve the performance of ultra-hot fusion plasmas. Construction continues on FLARE, a more powerful version of our Magnetic Reconnection Experiment, the leading laboratory facility for studying the astrophysical process that triggers solar flares, auroras and geomagnetic storms.

We are rapidly advancing both experimental and theoretical work. New research ranges from investigating the use of plasma to produce nanoparticles to leading a national team that is developing a program for the next generation of supercomputers. This program will produce the first complete simulation of an entire plasma and bring safe, clean and abundant fusion energy closer to reality.

Our research collaborations extend around the world, from the EAST and KSTAR tokamaks that investigate fusion energy in China and South Korea to the DIII-D tokamak that General Atomics operates for the U.S. Department of Energy in San Diego. We work closely with physicists on the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator, an alternative fusion device in Greifswald, Germany, and are managing U.S. diagnostic contributions and delivering steady state electrical equipment for ITER, the international tokamak under construction in France to demonstrate the feasibility of fusion energy.

We also have begun a 10-year program to modernize our campus to fully support our research. I hope you enjoy reading about our vast scientific endeavors, and can experience through these stories the sense of excitement we feel every day working at a national laboratory that has potential to dramatically change the world and benefit all of humankind.