Download a copy of the latest PSFC Progress Report - Plasma ...

Plasma Science & Fusion Center 

Progress Report 09–11

Plasma Science and Fusion Center 

Progress Report 09–11 

i

Contents 

From the Director.................................................... 1 

Alcator C-Mod............................................................ 6 

Physics Research....................................................14 

High-Energy-Density Physics.........................24 

Waves and Beams.................................................28 

Fusion Technology...............................................32 

Educational Outreach.........................................36 

Appointments, Awards, Activities................40 

PSFC Progress Report 09–11 1

From the Director 

MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center 

carries out a broad research program 

in the study of plasmas, fusion science 

and technology. Plasmas (ionized gas) are a rich 

area of basic and applied research. The PSFC seeks 

to provide research and educational op portunities 

for expanding the scientific under standing of the 

physics of plasmas, the “fourth state of matter,” 

and to use that knowledge to develop useful applications, 

in particular fusion energy. The study of 

plasmas relevant to fusion power is the major focus 

of the PSFC research program. Thermonuclear 

fusion occurs naturally in the sun and other stars, 

releasing the energy that keeps them “burning.” 

The plasma that makes up a star is held together 

by gravity because of the star’s enormous mass. 

In laboratory devices, magnetic fields may be 

used to confine the hot plasma (in particular deuterium 

and tritium – isotopes of hydrogen) long 

enough for fusion reactions to produce net energy 

economically. Plasmas in magnetic confinement 

devices are usually heated by energetic particle 

beams, high-power radio-frequency waves or microwaves. 

Most successful magnetic confinement 

devices use a plasma in the shape of a “torus” (a 

doughnut shape), which prevents the particles 

following the magnetic field lines from escaping 

the plasma. The most advanced of these toroidal 

configurations is called the “tokamak,” an acronym 

of the Russian words for “toroidal magnetic 

chamber.” Another leading candidate for toroidal 

confinement is called a stellarator, pioneered in 

the US in the 1960s, but presently pursued most 

significantly in experiments in Japan and Germany. 

PSFC scientists have made a significant 

theoretical effort to better understand confinement 

of hot plasma in the stellarator geometry. 

The PSFC research activities include exploration 

of not only magnetically confined plasmas, but 

also high-energy-density, inertially confined plasmas, 

through collaborations with the OMEGA laser 

facility at the University of Rochester and the 

National Ignition Facility (NIF) at the Lawrence 

Livermore National Laboratory. In these experimental 

facilities, powerful laser beams are used to 

compress and heat solid pellets of deuterium and 

tritium (DT reactions), or special capsules called 

“hohlraum” filled with DT gas, to achieve “inertial 

fusion” for short time durations. In an economical 

fusion power plant such reactions would have 

2 PSFC Progress Report 09–11

to be repeated approximately 10 times a second. 

Founded in 1976, the PSFC consolidated research 

carried out in MIT’s academic departments, the 

Francis Bitter Magnet Laboratory, and the Research 

Laboratory of Electronics (RLE). Located on the MIT 

campus, the Center is integrated into the university 

community, where it provides research opportunities 

not only to research scientists, but also to both 

graduate students and undergraduates, helping 

them fulfill the research requirements for their 

academic degrees. In addition, faculty members 

associated with the Center are actively involved 

in teaching plasma physics and fusion-ori ented 

courses in the Physics, Nuclear Science and Engineering, 

EECS and Mechanical Engineering academic 

departments. 

PSFC research and development (R&D) programs 

are supported principally by the Department of 

Energy. Total research volume in the past year 

from all sources was approxi mately $33 million. 

There are approximately 247 personnel associated 

with PSFC research activities. These include 

11 faculty and 11 senior scientists and engineers; 

56 graduate and 8 undergraduate students; 73 

research scientists, engineers, postdoctoral associates 

and technical staff, and 3 visiting students; 

35 visiting scientists, engineers, and research affiliates 

at MIT; 31 technical support personnel; and 

22 administrative and support staff. The PSFC is 

affiliated with 6 academic departments, including 

(in alphabetical order) Aero nautics and Astronautics, 

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 

Materi als Science and Engineering, Mechanical 

Engineering, Nuclear Science and Engineering, 

and Physics. The majority of the PhD students 

are from the depart ments of Nuclear Science and 

Engineering (NSE) and Physics. 

Administratively, there are five major research divisions, 

each with its Division Head who reports 

directly to the PSFC Director. In addition, two Associate 

Directors and one Assistant Director aid 

the Director in carrying out the administrative 

activities, looking over such activities as a regular 

colloquium series, student seminars, educational 

outreach, collaborations, IAP lecture series, computational 

services, and PSFC Library Services, just 

to name a few. The PSFC’s research divisions are 

the Alcator Project, Physics Research, High-Energy-Density 

Physics (HEDP), Waves and Beams, and 

Fusion Technology and Engineering. In summary, 

the following are the key research activities at the 

PSFC at the present time: 

•• 

The science of magnetically confined plasmas 

in the development of fusion energy, in particular 

the Alcator C-Mod tokamak project. 

•• 

The basic physics of plasmas, including 

magnetic reconnection experiments on 

the Versatile Toroidal Facility (VTF); new 

confinement concepts such as the Levitated 

Dipole Experiment (LDX); plasma-wall 

basic laboratory experiments; and theoretical 

plasma and fusion physics; and international 

collaborations. 

•• 

The physics of high-energy-density plasmas 

(HEDP), which includes the PSFC’s activity 

on inertial confinement laser-plasma fusion 

interactions, mostly through collaborations 

on the OMEGA laser at the University 

of Rochester and the National Ignition 

Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National 

Laboratory. 

•• 

The physics of waves and beams (gyrotron 

and high-gradient accelerator research, beam 

theory development, non-neutral plasmas, 

and coherent wave generation). 

PSFC Director Miklos Porkolab explains to Senator Jon Tester how the Levitated Dipole 

Experiment operates. 


•• 

A broad program in fusion technology and 

related engineering development, including 

spinoffs that address problems in several 

areas of advanced technology [e.g., both 

normal and superconducting magnets for 

fusion; advanced accelerator devices aided 

by superconducting magnet technology 

for national security threat deterrent 

applications, and medical treatments, such 

as radiation therapy by intense ion beams; 

and materials and system studies of fusion 

reactors]. 

Student participation in all aspects of the research 

activities at the PSFC has remained strong over 

the years, and a steady stream of highly qualified 

student applicants assures a healthy graduate 

education program. Supervision of students by 

faculty and senior research staff on a one-to-one 

basis provides unique mentoring and training of 

first-rate researchers. Courses offered by PSFC affiliated 

faculty assure a solid foundation of knowledge 

in plasma physics and fusion technology. 

The PSFC also sponsors a strong K-12 educational 

outreach program, including outreach 

days, laboratory tours led by graduate students, 

and in-house demonstrations by our nationally 

recognized “Mr. Magnet.” We have also been an 

active participant in the Plasma Sciences Expo at 

the annual APS Division of Plasma Physics Meeting, 

and are one of the leading members of the 

Coalition for Plasma Science (CPS), a nationwide 

organization advocating a strong program in 

plasma science. 

In view of the need to develop new forms of clean 

energy, we are optimistic that because of fusion’s 

promise for an unlimited and clean energy source, 

funding of fusion research will continue in the 

United States at a healthy level, and MIT’s PSFC 

will continue to contribute in important ways to 

realize fusion’s promise in the future. 



Alcator C- Mod 

Earl Marmar, Head, Alcator Project 

The Alcator C-Mod tokamak is a major 

international fusion experimental facility 

and is recognized as one of three major 

US national fusion facilities. 


Background 

The Alcator C-Mod tokamak is a major international 

fusion experimental facility and 

is recognized as one of three major US national 

fusion facilities. Dr. Earl Marmar, Senior 

Research Scientist in the Department of Physics 

and at the PSFC, is the Principal Investigator and 

Project Head. 

Alcator C-Mod, like its MIT predecessors Alcator 

A and Alcator C, operates with extremely strong 

magnetic fields, an approach that makes it possible 

to produce very dense and well-confined 

plasmas in a relatively compact device. C-Mod’s 

big difference from Alcator A and C is its D-shaped 

cross-section, with a poloidal divertor. Information 

from Alcator C-Mod provides important contributions 

to the ITER Project, a worldwide collaborative 

tokamak facility to be built in France with major 

US participation. ITER will be the world’s largest 

tokamak. It is designed to be the first tokamak to 

study the science of burning plasma, where the 

power from the fusion reactions is the dominant 

plasma-heating source. 

For fusion to occur, hot plasma must be kept away 

from the walls of the vacuum vessel. The insulation 

is never perfect, however, and plasma heat and 

particles slowly leak across the confining magnetic 

fields. These diffusion and convection processes 

are turbulent, and predicting the rates at which 

heat and particles are lost presents major experimental 

and theoretical challenges. To estimate energy 

losses in future machines, “scaling laws” are 

developed using experimental results from many 

different tokamaks operating over a wide range of 

conditions. A range of heating and fueling techniques, 

plasma shapes and variations in toroidal 

and poloidal magnetic fields is used to increase 

understanding of energy, particle and momentum 

transport in high-temperature plasmas, by carefully 

comparing theory and experiment. 

A bird’s eye view of Alcator C-Mod. 

Tokamak plasmas have a cross-section that is naturally 

circular. However, an elongated plasma, taller 

than it is wide, improves stability and favors efficient 

“cleansing” by a vertical divertor system like the one 

in Alcator C-Mod. The plasma’s elongated shape also 

allows superior plasma stability and confinement. 

To optimize performance, experimenters control 

the plasma’s parameters, and in particular its geometric 

shape. Fast feedback systems control the 

magnetic fields during each pulse. Localized heating 

and fueling help to control the temperature 

and density profiles. The plasma current profile is 

indirectly affected by these parameters, and currents 

can also be directly controlled by injecting 

microwaves from external sources. 

Alcator C-Mod has an advanced “divertor system” 

that uses specially shaped magnetic fields to 

scrape away the cooler, outer edge of the plasma 

and draw it into an isolated channel on the bottom 

of the vacuum vessel. This is necessary because 

ions escape from magnetically confined 

plasmas and collide with the walls of the vacuum 

vessel, where they deposit their energy and become 

neutralized. Efficient divertor systems will 

be key elements in future fusion power plants. 

Alcator C-Mod employs divertor channels with a 

baffle design that sets the standard for the next 

generation of tokamaks. 

The C-Mod team includes Full Time Equivalent 

(FTE) staff at MIT of approximately 50 scientists 

and engineers, (including 9 faculty and senior 

academic staff), plus 30 graduate students and 

25 technicians. In addition we have collaborators 

from around the world, bringing the total number 

of scientific users of the facility to about 200. 


AlCATOR C-Mod Basics 

3 

1 

2 

6 

4 

5 

1. Shown in blue, the poloidal field magnets control the plasma’s shape and position. Molybdenum tiles protect the 

vacuum vessel’s plasma-facing wall. 

2. Three of the 20 toroidal field magnet arms, which join in the tokamak’s central core. The horizontal windings around 

the core are used to establish the plasma current. The peak toroidal field inside these windings is 20 tesla. (1 tesla = 

10,000 gauss. The earth’s magnetic field is about 0.4 gauss. A toy bar magnet is about 100 gauss.) 

3. The wedge plate forms channels which support the toroidal field magnet arms. 

4. Twenty vertical legs complete the magnet, which can produce a 9 tesla toroidal field at the center of the torus. 

5. The top and bottom covers, made of solid stainless steel, are 10 feet in diameter and 26 inches thick. Each cover weighs 

35 tons, and bulges 1/8 inch during a maximum performance pulse. 

6. Draw bars, made of a super-strong 718 INCONEL alloy, hold the covers in place and are pre-tensioned to over 250 tons 

to withstand electromagnetic forces during a full current magnetic pulse. The yield strength of the draw bars is over 75 

tons/square inch. 


Graduate students gather on the landing of the Alcator C-Mod experiment. 

Recent Research Activities 

Research on C-Mod continued during the past 

two years in the topical science areas of transport, 

wave-plasma interactions, pedestal physics, 

boundary physics and magneto-hydrodynamic 

stability, as well as in the integrated thrust areas 

of H-Mode Inductive Scenarios and Alternate Tokamak 

Scenarios. 

A key challenge in fusion energy is to confine 

the input heat long enough for the hot ionized 

hydrogen fuel, or plasma, to fuse and produce 

net energy. Over 25 years ago, the spontaneous 

formation of an edge transport barrier was 

discovered in Germany on the ASDEX tokamak, 

which roughly doubled the energy confinement. 

This “high confinement” (or H-mode) regime is 

obtained routinely in most tokamaks, and is expected 

to be the fundamental mode of operation 

in the international ITER project. However, these 

edge transport barriers also improve confinement 

of plasma particles, including unwanted impurities 

and spent fuel, which could contaminate and 

dilute the deuterium plasma, and prevent or even 

extinguish the fusion reaction. Some means of 

expelling the particles is thus needed. This can 

be accomplished by naturally occurring bursts 

of plasma blobs from the edge (ELMS, or edge 

localized modes), but they are of concern since 

they may erode the material surfaces of the wall 

of the tokamak. 

On Alcator C-Mod re 

searchers are studying a 

new regime that has an 

energy transport barrier 

similar to that in H- 

mode, but without the 

unwanted increase in 

particle confinement, 

leading to ELMS. This 

leads to steady, readily 

controllable densities 

and low radiated power, in 

most cases without any 

large-scale bursts. The 

Alcator C-Mod edge and 

core temperatures often 

increase dramatically, up 

to 5 keV (55 millionºC) 

in the core, and energy confinement reaches or 

exceeds the H-mode scalings on which the ITER 

design is based. A general, gradual decrease in the 

broadband edge turbulence is seen as the barrier 

is formed. A “weakly coherent” mode appears at 

higher frequencies, which may be responsible 

for regulating particle transport in such favorable 

confinement regimes, named the I-Mode. Such a 

regime has been obtained using RF heating and 

maintained in steady state for times greatly exceeding 

the energy confinement time scale. It has 

been studied over a wide range of plasma parameters, 

with toroidal magnetic fields up to 6 T and 

plasma currents up to 1.3 million amperes, and its 

The C-Mod divertor is armored with high heat-flux molybdenum tiles. 


access is favored by certain plasma shapes and 

magnetic topologies. Current C-Mod experiments 

are revealing the physics underlying this attractive 

regime, in particular the favorable decoupling 

of heat and particle transport. An assessment of 

its prospects for burning plasma experiments in 

ITER is underway. 

Developing magnetic confinement fusion into 

a practical energy source will require creating 

plasmas sufficiently hot and dense for fusion reactions, 

simultaneous with sustainable power 

fluxes to the reactor walls. Attempts to meet these 

requirements have typically resulted in plasmas 

that would produce abundant fusion power when 

scaled to a reactor, but would lead to local overheating 

of the components protecting its wall; or 

to the reverse—plasmas whose power outflow 

could be handled, but which would produce too 

little fusion power. The critical component, called 

a divertor, is located at the area of the vessel wall 

where the highest power fluxes are expected. 

New experiments in Alcator C-Mod with high 

levels of radio-frequency heating power have 

injected impurities to decrease local deposition 

of the exhaust plasma power. These experiments 

demonstrated that the requirements for high performance 

and acceptable power exhaust could 

be met in a fusion reactor, such as ITER. The Al- 

Two dipole radio-frequency antennas on the outer wall of the C-Mod vacuum vessel. 

Each antenna is used to couple up to 2 million watts of radio wave power into the 

plasma. The waves have a frequency of 80 million cycles per second, and after the 

waves damp on the hydrogen ions (protons) in the plasma, collisions of these fast 

protons with the colder background electrons and deuterons heat the plasma to bulk 

temperatures of up to 100 million degrees Kelvin. 

cator C-Mod experiments confirm that the key 

parameter governing fusion plasma performance 

is the power that exhausts through the edge of 

the confined plasma, which needs to be above 

a critical value, the so-called high confinement 

power threshold. Research on Alcator C-Mod has 

also shown that this minimum exhausted power 

for good confinement can be safely distributed 

by enhanced radiation from impurity ions in the 

exterior layers of the plasma, thereby avoiding 

both local wall overheating or deteriorating fusion 

performance. The key new feature of the Alcator 

C-Mod experiments is that the ratio of the plasma 

heating power to the minimum exhausted power for 

good confinement is large, allowing the requirements 

for good plasma confinement and large levels 

of electromagnetic radiation by impurities to be 

met for the first time. 

While the results from Alcator C-Mod are already 

significant for ITER, they are even more so for a 

follow-up fusion demonstration reactor (DEMO), 

which will demonstrate net electricity production 

to the grid. Such reactors are expected to have a 

similar requirement with regards to the minimum 

exhausted power and for good confinement as 

in ITER, but with fusion energy production about 

5 times larger, posing a much greater challenge 

for local wall heating. The Alcator C-Mod results 

show that in these future reactors, redistributing 

the exhaust power by impurity radiation at the 

plasma edge and the exterior layers of the plasma 

is a viable option. 

One potential problem with the dissipation of 

heat load on the walls is that heat that leaks out 

the “magnetic bottle” may become focused into 

narrow channels as it streams along magnetic 

field lines in adjoining boundary layers. This produces 

narrow “footprints” on wall surfaces. The 

smaller the footprint, the more intense the heat 

flux becomes, and the intensity may exceed the 

power handling ability of present wall-protection 

materials. But physicists have answers for this as 

well, at least in part: shape wall surfaces and operate 

in regimes that promote radiative losses. Yet, 

no one knows if these schemes will be adequate 

for a power-producing fusion reactor because a 

fundamental question remains: What underlying 

physics sets the size of the footprints seen in fusion 

plasmas? Recent experiments performed in 


current to toroidal magnetic 

field strength does 

that trick. Again, the field 

line lengths did not matter. 

These data are part of a 

growing body of evidence 

that self-regulatory heat 

transport mechanisms 

are at play, which tend 

to clamp the width of the 

heat flux profiles at a critical 

scale-length value. 

The physics of these 

processes is a subject 

of further investigation. 

High-power microwave tube sources, which provide power to drive steady-state 

plasma current in Alcator C-Mod. 

Alcator C-Mod have uncovered important clues, 

including behaviors that appear counter-intuitive 

at first. One prevailing model holds that, as the 

length of the magnetic field line becomes longer, 

the footprint should get wider; the heat has more 

time to spread out. 

To test this model, Alcator C-Mod prepared two 

plasmas: one with the usual footprints and one 

with an additional set of footprints, each having 

half the field line length. No significant change 

in footprint shape was seen. In other plasmas, field 

line lengths were varied by changing how tightly they 

twist around the torus – changing the ratio of plasma 

Steady-state operation 

is generally considered 

to be an essential requirement for a practical fusion 

reactor. However, the confining magnetic 

field in most tokamaks such as Alcator C-Mod is 

produced in part by a toroidal current generated 

by magnetic induction (the ”poloidal” magnetic 

field component). This means that such tokamaks 

are inherently pulsed plasma confinement systems 

and are most likely unsuitable for an economical 

reactor application. In addition, non-inductive 

methods of driving the toroidal current in a tokamak 

are available and include injecting RF 

waves (or microwaves) and/or neutral beams. 

In addition, only a fraction of the total current 

needs to be supplied by external sources, since 

substantial current is 

also produced naturally 

by the plasma pressure 

gradient (the so called 

“bootstrap” current). Developing 

the scientific 

basis for steady-state tokamak 

operation using 

the injection of microwaves 

to supplement 

the self-generated current 

is a high priority 

within the Alcator C-Mod 

research program. 

Important progress toward 

the steady-state 

goal was made this year 

using the lower hybrid 


Empirical scaling law for all the data from 180º and +90º 

antenna phasing. Data regrouped by antenna frequency (B 

field) and plasma confinement mode. 

microwave system, a key tool for driving current 

and controlling the current density profile. A 

new, high-efficiency launcher composed o f 64 

waveguides was installed in June, 2010, and was 

quickly commissioned and brought up to power 

levels exceeding 1 MW. Highlights of operation 

with this system include sustaining fully non-inductive 

discharges with up to 600 kA of plasma 

current for pulse lengths long compared to the 

resistive current rearrangement time, as shown 

on the graph above. Successful combination of 

high-powered microwave current drive and ion 

cyclotron radio-frequency plasma heating was 

also demonstrated. Using these control tools, 

researchers investigated fast electron transport, 

confinement improvements, toroidal flow drive 

and modifications to the edge plasma confinement 

barrier. 

We have carried out a detailed study of ICRF mode 

conversion flow drive on the Alcator C-Mod 

tokamak, including its dependence on plasma 

and RF parameters. The flow drive efficiency is 

found to depend strongly on the 3 He concentration 

in D( 3 He) plasmas, a key parameter separating 

the ICRF minority heating and mode conversion 

regimes. This result further supports the important 

role of mode conversion. At +90 o antenna 

phasing (waves in co-Ip direction) and dipole 

phasing (waves symmetrical in both directions), 

we find that ΔV, the change in the core toroidal 

rotation velocity, is in the co-Ip direction, proportional 

to the RF power, and also increases 

with Ip (opposite to the 1/Ip intrinsic rotation 

scaling). The flow drive efficiency also decreases 

at higher plasma density and also at higher antenna 

frequency. The observed ΔV in H-mode has 

been small because of the unfavorable density 

scaling. As shown on the graph on this page, an 

empirical scaling law for +90 o phasing and 180 o 

phasing, including L-mode and H-mode, has been 

obtained. At low RF power, ΔV at -90 o phasing is 

similar to the other phasings, but at high Ip and 

high power, the flow drive effect appears to be 

saturated and to decrease with increasing RF 

power. This observation indicates that possibly 

two mechanisms are involved in determining 

the total torque: one is RF power dependent, 

which generates a torque in the co-Ip direction, 

and the other is wave momentum dependent, 

i.e., the torque changes direction vs. antenna 

phasing. The up-down asymmetry in the mode 

conversion to the ion cyclotron wave may be the 

key to understanding the flow drive mechanism. 

Production of high Z impurities during the injection 

of high ICRF power has been extensively 

studied on C-Mod. Based on those studies, and 

associated modeling, we are implementing an 

advanced, field-aligned rotated antenna for the 

next run campaign. By making the antenna straps 

The new ICRF antenna, 

installed in C-Mod prior to 

restart of operations in Fall 

2011. Above, the antenna as 

assembled on a test stand, 

prior to installation of the 

Faraday screen rods; to the 

right, one of the straps with 

its set of Faraday screen rods. 


perpendicular to the total edge magnetic field, 

E || 

along each field line should cancel, with an expected 

reduction in impurity source due to edge 

plasma sputtering. Modeling indicates that this 

configuration should lead to reduction of impurity 

production by as much as an order of magnitude, 

which would be a major help for all C-Mod 

experiments using ICRF auxiliary power. Furthermore, 

such results would have major positive 

implications for ITER, which plans to use ICRF as 

a major part of its auxiliary power complement, 

and is expected to operate with tungsten plasma 

facing divertor components. 

Alcator Project Head Earl Marmar shows Senator Jon Tester of Montana (right) 

the new advanced, field-aligned ICRF antenna, designed to test theories 

related to impurity production during high-powered heating. Looking on are 

Principal Research Scientist Steve Wukitch (left of Earl Marmar) and Miklos 

Porkolab (right of Earl Marmar). 

Representative Edward J. Markey (far right) views a monitor recording the interior of the 

Alcator C-Mod tokamak, in anticipation of the next plasma shot. Accompanying him are 

MIT alumnus Reiner Beeuwkes and his wife, Nancy; Congressional Aide Sarah Butler; PSFC 

Director Miklos Porkolab and Senior Research Scientist Martin Greenwald. Nuclear science and 

engineering graduate student Matt Reinke (seated) was running the experiment that day. 


Physics Research Division 

Miklos Porkolab, Head Physics Research Division. 

The goal of the Physics Research Division is 

to improve theoretical and experimental 

understanding of plasma physics and fusion 

science. This Division maintains a strong 

basic and applied plasma theory and 

computation program while developing 

basic plasma physics concepts. 


Background 

The Physics Research Division, headed by 

Professor Miklos Porkolab, seeks to improve 

our theoretical and experimental understanding 

of plasma physics and fusion science. 

This Division develops basic plasma physics experiments, 

new confinement concepts, novel 

plasma diagnostics, and is the home of a strong 

basic and applied plasma theory and computations 

program. Members of the Physics Research 

Division include theoretical and experimental 

plasma physicists, faculty members, graduate and 

undergraduate students and visiting collaborators, 

all working together to better understand 

plasmas and to extend their uses. 


Fusion Theory and Computation 

The theory effort, led by Senior Research Scientist 

Dr. Peter Catto, focuses on basic and applied fusion 

plasma theory research. It supports Alcator C- 

Mod and other tokamak experiments worldwide, 

the Levitated Dipole Experiment (LDX), and the 

international stellarator program. In support of 

these efforts, PSFC theorists are developing improved 

analytical and numerical models to better 

describe plasma phenomena, both in the laboratory 

and in nature. In addition to basic plasma 

theory, research on radio-frequency heating and 

current drive, core and edge transport and turbulence, 

and magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) and 

kinetic stability is also carried out. PSFC theorists 

also investigate concepts to improve tokamak 

performance. 

One promising approach to advanced tokamak 

operation uses radio-frequency waves to control 

pressure and current profiles in order to heat, control 

instabilities, and achieve steady state operation 

in high-pressure plasmas. Recently we have 

further improved our advanced kinetic codes for 

simulating the resulting non-thermal particle distributions 

in the lower hybrid and ion cyclotron 

range of frequencies, as well as carried out validation 

activities aimed at testing the predictive 

capabilities of these models, in close collaboration 

with experimentalists. We have improved our 

ability to model the non-thermal tail part of the 

ion distribution function that is generated by the 

wave heating, and have also improved the electron-physics 

model. Moreover, the performance of 

these codes has been substantially enhanced. An 

example of this enhanced simulation capability, 

shown here, illustrates a three-dimensional field 

reconstruction of lower-hybrid-range-of-frequency 

(LHRF) waves in the Alcator C-Mod tokamak. 

The wave fields can be seen emanating from four 

waveguides and propagating toroidally, with the 

characteristic resonance cone structure expected 

for LH waves. We also performed theoretical investigations 

of the scattering of radio-frequency 

waves from edge-density fluctuations and density 

blobs in the scrape-off layer of tokamak plasmas, 

and derived a new kinetic formulation of radiofrequency-induced 

current drive in high-temperature 

toroidal fusion plasmas. In addition, a new 

nonlinear sheath theoretical and computational 

model has been developed to describe the sheath 

regions associated with the antennas. (“Sheaths” 

are regions of non-neutral plasmas in the vicinity 

of metallic surfaces.) 

Another active arc of research is nonlinear MHD 

theory and its impact on stability and transport. 

In the past two years we have made major prog- 

Three dimensional rendering of TORLH simulations of LHRF using selfconsistent 

electrons in an Alcator C-Mod plasma [T e 

(0) = 2.33 keV, n e 

(0) = 

7×10 19 m -3 , B 0 

= 5.36 T, n || 

(0) = -1.9 and 0 

= 4.6 GHz]. 


ess in developing new hybrid fluid/drift-kinetic 

closure models, which are being implemented in 

codes that are used to describe nonlinear macroscopic 

behavior in tokamaks. The focus to date 

has been on the electron dynamics, with ion behavior 

to be considered next. The hybrid fluid/ 

drift-kinetic description being developed and 

implemented in the nonlinear MHD stability code 

“NIMROD” will be used to model longer wavelength 

features associated with macroscopic behavior 

in tokamak plasmas. The motivation here 

is to develop a well-grounded theoretical model 

to analyze slowly growing macroscopic instabilities 

in high-temperature, magnetically confined 

tokamak plasmas. We were able to derive analytic 

dispersion relations, valid over a wide range of 

plasma parameters that could be used to verify 

large extended MHD codes, such as NIMROD. 

Other work in this area has included improved 

analytic solutions to the MHD equilibrium equations, 

and the derivation of various stability comparison 

theorems. 

We have also performed extensive investigations 

of turbulence in tokamaks, where density fluctuation 

levels are normally regulated by plasma 

flow shear referred to as zonal flow. In trapped 

electron mode (TEM) turbulence, an apparent 

contradiction had emerged. On the one hand, 

we had previously discovered that zonal flows 

produced a large nonlinear upshift of the critical 

density gradient for the onset of TEM turbulence. 

PSFC Associate Director Jeffrey Freidberg with Librarian Jason Thomas. 

On the other hand, a separate study of TEM turbulence 

claimed zonal flows were unimportant. 

In collaboration with researchers from the SciDAC 

Center for the Study of Plasma Microturbulence, 

we reconciled the two results by showing that 

TEM zonal flows vary strongly with the ratio of 

density to temperature gradient scale lengths. 

This study took the important step of comparing 

gyrokinetic particle and continuum microturbulence 

simulations with full electron dynamics. In 

complementary work, we continued to improve 

gyrokinetic collision operators for use in realistic 

plasma microturbulence simulations. Collisions 

play an important role in plasma turbulence near 

the threshold for excitation of the modes, where 

most experiments operate. 

Existing nonlinear gyrokinetic and extended MHD 

codes are unable to predict the evolution of tokamak 

plasma on transport time scales since that 

requires a simultaneous knowledge of the global 

axisymmetric radial electric field and its associated 

flow. To predict long-time-scale plasma evolution 

along with the superimposed zonal flow 

established on shorter time scales and at shorter 

radial scale lengths, hybrid fluid/gyrokinetic descriptions 

are required. The theory group developed 

the first such description (valid for arbitrary 

collisionality) by using conservation and other 

moment equations along with solutions to the 

gyrokinetic equation. This hybrid description is 

presently being implemented in the GS2/Trinity 

codes. In a separate study, an analytical evaluation 

of the residual zonal flow level was performed in 

the high-confinement pedestal region just inside 

the separatrix. Beyond the separatrix the magnetic 

field lines connect to the vacuum chamber 

wall. Inside the pedestal the plasma gradients are 

strong, and the resulting strong radial electric 

field and its shear were shown to modify zonal 

flow behavior. In addition, the effect of this strong 

electric field and its shear on ion and impurity 

flow, ion heat transport, and parallel current was 

evaluated. These results explained pedestal flow 

measurements on Alcator C-Mod. 

In a new program that complements our extensive 

tokamak research program, the theory group 

has begun an effort focused on equilibrium and 

transport in stellarators. Unlike tokamaks, stellarators 

are inherently steady state, but with magnetic 


Paul Bonoli is the Principal Investigator of the SciDac 

”Center for Simulation of Wave Plasma Interactions” 

Project. 

fields that are fully three-dimensional rather than 

axisymmetric. Results have been obtained for optimized 

stellarators that are quasi-symmetric or 

quasi-isodynamic. Quasi-symmetric stellarators 

share many of the properties of tokamaks, but without 

the need of a transformer to drive an Ohmic 

current. General expressions have been obtained 

for the flows, heat transport, and currents in these 

devices and in quasi-isodynamic configurations. In 

a quasi-isodynamic stellarator the surfaces of constant 

magnetic field, B, close poloidally such that 

the minimum and maximum of B are the same for 

Columbia University scientist Darren Garnier works on the Levitated Dipole 

Experiment (LDX). 

every field line on the flux surface. 

The PSFC theory group also has a strong participation 

in the multi-institutional SciDAC “Center 

for Simulation of Wave Plasma Interactions,” 

where Dr. Paul Bonoli serves as the Principal Investigator 

of this entire SciDAC Project. We are 

also involved in several other SciDACs and prototype 

simulation projects. Their main purpose is 

to implement advanced fluid, kinetic and hybrid 

descriptions in large-scale nonlinear simulations. 

In 2007 a new high-performance parallel computing 

cluster (Loki) was developed and implemented 

at the PSFC by the theory group, becoming 

a major tool in aiding scientific discovery 

within the PSFC theory program. It is employed 

for theoretical fusion research initiatives in which 

simulation plays a significant or dominant role. 

It also supports the Alcator C-Mod, LDX, and 

VTF experiments through simulation of experimental 

conditions and interpretation of diagnostic 

measurements. Loki is now heavily used 

by about 50 graduate students and researchers, 

including some of our external domestic 

and international collaborators. The cluster has 

enabled many Alcator C-Mod students to carry 

out sophisticated, quantitative simulations of microturbulence 

and radiofrequency 

heating for direct 

comparisons with their measurements. 

The cluster was 

initially comprised of 230 

processors in 65 compute 

nodes. In 2009 the number 

of processors in the cluster 

was increased from 260 

to 600, the total cluster 

memory was more than 

tripled from 260 GB to 940 

GB, and 10 new nodes were 

added to improve operational 

flexibility and cluster 

scheduling. In 2010 an 

additional upgrade was 

started and is nearing completion. 

The storage capacity 

on the head node is being 

increased from 2 to 25 

TB, and the operating system 

has been upgraded. 


Levitated Dipole 

Experiment (LDX) 

Physicists at the PSFC have 

been exploring novel magnetic 

confinement configurations 

that are fundamentally 

different from the tokamak. 

These experiments have broadened 

the understanding of 

the physics of plasma confinement 

and may lead to 

alternate reactor concepts. In 

addition they provide insights 

into space and astrophysical 

plasma phenomenon. Dipole 

confinement of relatively highpressure 

plasma has been 

observed in nature, e.g., in the 

magnetospheres surrounding Earth or Jupiter. 

In the Levitated Dipole Experiment (LDX) a superconducting 

floating current ring arrangement 

generates a dipole magnetic field in which we 

create a torus of hot plasma. LDX permitted 

the study of stability and confinement properties of 

a dipole in a laboratory setting. Unfortunately, the 

US DOE recently terminated LDX. The experiment 

was a joint collaborative project with Columbia 

University at MIT, led by Principal Investigators Senior 

Research Scientist Dr. Jay Kesner (MIT) and 

Professor Michael Mauel (Columbia University). 

During the initial LDX experimental campaign, 

which began in 2004, the dipole coil was mechanically 

supported within the vacuum chamber. These 

experiments provided a database for supported 

operation, later to be compared with levitated experiments. 

During supported experiments plasma 

was primarily lost to the supports, dominating 

cross-field transport processes that are of scientific 

interest. Experiments with the floating coil 

fully levitated began in 2007. A launching structure 

lifted the floating coil into the center of the 

vacuum chamber, the levitation system was turned 

on and the launcher was then moved outside of 

the plasma. The plasma was heated by up to 25 kW 

of electron cyclotron heating at multiple frequencies: 

2.45, 6.4, 10.5 and 28.0 GHz, respectively. As 

compared to previous studies in which the internal 

coil was supported, levitation resulted in improved 

Senior Research Engineer Paul Woskov works on a dual receiver millimeter-wave 

system used for hot electron cyclotron emission measurements in conjunction with the 

Levitated Dipole Experiment. 

particle confinement, which allowed high-density, 

high-beta discharges to be maintained at significantly 

reduced gas fueling. Elimination of parallel 

losses coupled with reduced gas fueling was observed 

to lead to improved energy confinement. 

During levitation of the half-ton superconducting 

current ring a strong particle pinch was observed, 

which was the basis of an article in Nature-Physics 

[Boxer et al, Nature Physics, 3 (2010) 207] and an 

accompanying press release. Theoretical studies 

supported the view that the pinch was driven by 

plasma turbulence; these observations serve as an 

example of turbulence driving density inwards. A 

weak turbulent pinch is thought to play an important 

role in fueling other plasma devices, but the 

demonstration in LDX was clear and dramatic. The 

pinch was observed to produce stationary density 

profiles with a peak-to-edge density ratio of up to 

30. Additionally, the improved particle confinement 

that accompanied levitation was seen to improve 

the stability of the hot electron component, and 

was seen to produce significantly improved dipole 

discharges. A video of the first levitated plasma operation 

may be viewed on the LDX website (www. 

psfc.mit.edu/ldx/). 

In these experiments we utilized only electron 

heating. Recently the PSFC obtained a 1 MW transmitter, 

which has been installed near the experimental 

bay. As fusion energy requires hot ions, 

we were preparing to initiate direct ion heating 


experiments when funding of the project was 

terminated by DOE in December 2010. 

MReconnection Experiments on the 

Versatile Toroidal Facility (VTF) 

Magnetic reconnection plays a fundamental role 

in magnetized plasmas as it permits rapid release 

of magnetic stress and energy through changes 

in the magnetic field line topology. It controls 

the spatial and temporal evolution of explosive 

events, such as solar flares, coronal mass ejections, 

and magnetic storms in the earth’s magnetotail, 

driving the auroral phenomena. Magnetic reconnection 

is studied in the Versatile Toroidal Facility 

under the leadership of Professor Jan Egedal, who 

leads the effort of half a dozen undergraduate and 

graduate students. The magnetic geometry of VTF 

is providing insight to what controls the onset of 

the explosive magnetic reconnection event observed 

in nature. In a recent Physical Review Letter 

important details were published about the threedimensional 

nature of a magnetic reconnection 

event. The spontaneous onset is facilitated by a 

global mode, which breaks the axisymmetry that 

enables a localized reconnection onset. 

In most theories for reconnection, the electrons 

are approximated by Maxwellian isotropic distribution. 

However, based in part on the VTF experimental 

results obtained during the past three 

years, members of the VTF group have derived a 

new analytic model for the electron pressure tensor 

during reconnection. This theory accounts for 

the highly anisotropic pressure near the reconnection 

region observed by spacecraft and in kinetic 

simulations. In fact, the pressure anisotropy is the 

driver of the highly structured electron distribution 

function that is characteristic of electron jets 

observed in the central reconnection region. We 

note that a strong collaboration exists between 

the VTF group and eminent theorists and computer 

modelers at universities and national laboratories 

(in particular Bill Daughton at Los Alamos), 

who develop some of the largest 3D codes 

to properly describe solar coronal mass ejection 

phenomena and magnetic reconnection in the 

earth’s magnetotail. The VTF group activities are 

part of a larger national, and in fact international 

effort, to understand the physical processes responsible 

for magnetic reconnection and release 

of vast amounts of magnetic energy under different 

conditions in nature and in the laboratory. 

Novel Diagnostics and Collaborations 

A. Phase Contrast Imaging on DIII-D and 

Alcator C-Mod 

This work, by Professor Porkolab on Alcator C-Mod 

and Dr. Chris Rost on site at DIII-D, involves strong 

graduate student and post-doc participation. 

Phase Contrast Imaging (PCI) is a unique interferometer 

type of diagnostic utilizing a 50-watt 

cw CO 2 

laser and a special grooved phase plate 

inserted into the CO 2 

beam path that ultimately 

enables us to image plasma turbulence onto a 

liquid nitrogen cooled detector array. The output 

of the detectors gives valuable information on 

both the phase and amplitude of the turbulent 

density fluctuations with extraordinary sensitivity 

and fine spatial and temporal resolution. This 

diagnostic has been implemented and improved 

over the years both on the DIII-D tokamak at 

General Atomics in San Diego, and on the Alcator 

C-Mod tokamak at the PSFC. The Phase Contrast 

Imaging (PCI) diagnostic is able to detect 

short wavelength (mm to cm), high-frequency 

(up to 5 MHz) modes excited by plasma instabilities 

(the so-called ITG, TEM and ETG modes) 

which are believed to play a fundamental role 

Prof. Jan Egedal (center) works on the Versatile Toroidal Facility with his students: (from 

back left )- graduate students Arturs Vrublevski and Air Le; UROP students Jonathan Ng 

and Evan Lynch; graduate student Obioma Ohia (right, back) and UROP student Dustin 

Katz (front). 


frequency (kHz) 

500 

400 

300 

200 

100 

Experimentally measured fluctuation 

spectrum during the ohmic C-Mod as 

measured by the PCI diagnostic. 

Arbitrary units 

frequency (kHz) 

400 

300 

200 

100 

0 

-10 -5 0 5 10 

-10 -5 0 

k R 

(cm -1 ) k R 

(cm -1 ) 

in determining particle and energy transport in 

homogeneous high-temperature fusion plasmas. 

In the charts above we show results from C-Mod 

ohmic plasmas with the PCI diagnostic. The fluctuation 

spectrum is doppler shifted by the radial 

electric field by several hundred kHz, so it can be 

distinguished from edge turbulence (up to 100 

kHz). Gyrokinetic code simulations show good 

agreements with measurements (based on the 

synthetic PCI method). 

5 

10 

Arbitrary units 

Predictions of the turbulent 

spectrum by the gyrokinetic code 

GYRO, including the measured 

plasma rotation. 

In addition to providing important new information 

on short wavelength instabilities related to 

transport of the bulk plasma, in C-Mod the PCI 

has also detected electromagnetic Alfvén waves 

which are driven into a nonlinear saturated state 

by energetic particle distributions, such as those 

generated by intense ICRF waves that are used 

to heat the plasma to multi-keV temperatures. A 

class of these modes is called the Reversed Shear 

Alfvén waves, or RSA, which may effect transport 

(ie, loss) of energetic particles, including alpha 

particles in a burning plasma, such as ITER and 

DEMO. This diagnostic also has detected a set 

of new edge turbulent modes in the I-Mode of 

tokamak operation (see Alcator Section), the socalled 

weakly coherent modes, or WCM which 

is believed to eject impurities while maintaining 

excellent energy confinement . 

Finally, in C-Mod PCI is also used to detect and 

study the externally launched ICRF waves, in particular 

the mode converted Bernstein waves and 

ion cyclotron waves (ICW). Such measurements 

provide a stringent test and validation of state 

of the art full wave codes such as AORSA and TO- 

RIC (see figure below). These studies found that 

in some regimes of interest serious discrepancies 

exist between code predictions and quantitative 

mode amplitude measurements, possibly due to 

the toroidal variations of the mode converted 

wave amplitudes and toroidal localization 

of the PCI diagnostic. Other possibilities 

include dissipation in the edge 

plasma due to the weak core absorption 

of the injected RF waves. 

Comparison of full-wave simulations to the PCI measurements are 

done using a synthetic diagnostic method. The simulated wave 

electron density fluctuation is integrated along the laser beam path 

and the high-pass k-filter of the phase plate is applied to ‘’synthesize’’ 

the PCI signal (Left panel). The result is compared directly to 

measurements. Usually, the radial fluctuation intensity profile and the 

wavenumber spectrum is compared (Right panel). 

On DIII-D, we have continued to study 

the poloidal variation of edge turbulence 

using data from different PCI 

beam paths (data collected over many 

years) making use of the mask filter to 

add spatial localization. Recently we 

also looked at “Quiescent H-mode” 

plasmas with different geometries and 

different outer gaps (in effect moving 

the PCI with respect to the plasma). The 

data shows a more complicated behavior 

than expected, partly because 

there appear to be several instabilities 

in the region of interest (1 < k < 10 cm- 

1, 10 kHz < f < 1 MHz) with different 


spatial variations. Similarly, in the outer 

gap scan, we see a large component of 

the turbulence that is broad in kr at finite 

kq as expected in core turbulence, while 

there are also modes that are narrow in kr 

and wide in kq, as well as modes at kq=0. 

We will work with the newly developing 

edge code models, such as BOUT and 

CEPES, to identify these components and 

determine which are important to edge 

transport and which are incidental. 

B. Plasma Surface Interactions (PSI) 

Prof. Dennis Whyte leads this effort, in collaboration 

with scientists at the University 

of California, San Diego and the University 

of Tennessee. For plasma confined by 

magnetic fields in a laboratory setting, or 

for inertially confined plasma in a vacuum 

chamber, some of the charged particles 

and/or energetic neutral atoms escape 

and impact a surrounding solid material 

surface. The first state of matter, solids, and 

the fourth state of matter, plasma, therefore 

meet in the study of Plasma-Surface Interactions 

or PSI. Understanding and controlling PSI is 

critically important to a large variety of plasma 

applications: the fabrication of modern electronic 

devices, the lifetime of plasma-based thrusters for 

space exploration, and the surrounding material 

surfaces in a fusion reactor (which is possibly the 

harshest environment ever engineered for materials.) 

Over the last few years the PSFC has started 

developing a broad set of research tools to examine 

PSI science. The science challenge of PSI lies in 

the fact that it requires an understanding of many 

coupled phenomena over an extremely large range 

of spatial and time scales. In collaboration with UC 

San Diego and the University of Tennessee, the 

PFSC has founded a PSI Science Center sponsored 

by the Department of Energy Office of Fusion Energy 

Science. The Center brings to bear worldleading 

experimental, modeling and measurement 

tools focusing on the fundamentals of PSI science. 

The cornerstone experimental facility at MIT is the 

DIONISOS (Dynamics of IONic Implantation & Sputtering 

On Surfaces) experiment. It has the unique 

combination of providing continuous plasma bombardment 

of surfaces while simultaneously probing 

the surface properties with a high-energy ion 

Members of the PSI group include group leader Dennis Whyte (standing right), and (left to right) 

Peter Stahle ( standing) Regina Sullivan, Brandon Sorbom, Graham Wright, Harold Barnard and 

Kevin Woller. 

beam provided by a 1.7 million volt accelerator. 

This allows DIONISOS to take real-time “snap-shots” 

of how the material surface is responding to the 

plasma and uncover its dynamic response. 

Recent research has focused on the development 

of complex surface nano-tendrils in refractory 

metals when exposed to helium plasmas. This 

effect could have a significant impact on using 

tungsten in magnetic fusion reactors. It has been 

shown that the tendrils have very constant high 

helium concentration, about 1% of the tungsten, 

indicating the likely importance of helium bubbles 

in forming the tendrils. In addition, in collaboration 

with Alcator C-Mod, it was shown for the first 

time that the tendrils could be formed and could 

survive in the divertor region of a tokamak, which 

has possible important implications for ITER and 

future fusion reactors. 

C. International Collaboration on JET 

This experimental program is led by Prof. Miklos 

Porkolab, and Senior Research Engineer Dr. Paul 

Woskov of the PSFC. Collaborative experiments 

are being carried out among the PSFC (MIT), CRPP 

(Lausanne, Switzerland) and UK scientists at the 


Joint European Torus (JET) in England, the world’s 

largest tokamak and the major experimental tool 

of the European Fusion Development Agreement. 

The goal of these experiments is to study Alfvén 

wave propagation and instabilities driven by highenergy 

particles, such as radio-frequency-driven 

energetic ions, injected neutral (ion) beams, and 

fusion-generated alpha particles on the JET facility, 

all highly relevant to burning plasma physics 

in ITER and future reactors. 

In the past few years, CRPP installed a set of 4(8) 

toroidally separated antenna elements to launch 

waves with a well defined toroidal n-number 

spectrum. Preliminary studies of wave propagation 

and damping processes have been carried 

out in the past two years under non-ideal conditions, 

using a non-ideal amplifier system (one 

old Bonn amplifier split in 8 ways). 

It was decided to upgrade the amplifier system with 

8 new independently controlled solid state units, to 

be provided in part by MIT under DOE sponsorship. 

Meanwhile, very recently Brazil joined the collaboration 

to provide engineering support for this 

project. In particular, Brazilian engineers are considering 

the use of high-power switching power 

supplies that are more tolerant of high reflected 

powers. If testing of this design proves to be viable, 

MIT will participate in procuring some of 

the eight power supplies for installation on JET. 



High-Energy-Density Physics 

Richard Petrasso, Head, High-Energy-Density Physics Division. 

The High-Energy-Density Physics (HEDP) 

Division has carried out pioneering and 

important studies of Inertial Confinement 

Fusion (ICF) physics. The Division designs 

and implements diagnostics on the OMEGA 

and NIF laser fusion facilities, and performs 

theoretical calculations to study and explore 

the non-linear dynamics and properties of 

plasmas in inertial fusion and those under 

extreme conditions of density, pressure and 

field strength. 


Background 

The High-Energy-Density Physics (HEDP) Division, 

led by Dr. Richard Petrasso, has carried 

out pioneering and important studies 

in the areas of Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) 

physics and HEDP. The Division designs and implements 

experiments, and performs theoretical 

calculations, to study and explore the non-linear 

dynamics and properties of plasmas in inertial 

fusion and those under extreme conditions of 

density (~1000 g/cc, or 50 times the density of 

gold), pressure (~1000 billion atmospheres, or 5 

times the pressure at the center of the sun), and 

field strength (~1 megagauss, corresponding to 

2.5 million times the earth’s magnetic field). 

The Division collaborates extensively with the 

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), 

where the giant National Ignition Facility (NIF) is 

expected to achieve ignition (self-sustaining burn) 

by imploding fuel capsules with a 2-MJ, 192-beam 

laser. During the last year and a half, while the NIF 

was being tuned for an ignition campaign that 

will start in FY 2012, MIT developed and provided 

several diagnostic instruments for studying the 

compression, symmetry, timing, and nuclear yields 

of ICF implosions. The MIT-developed instruments 

collectively form an essential part of the ignition 

diagnostics set for studying implosion dynamics. 

In addition to ICF physics, Division scientists are 

collaborating with colleagues at the Laboratory 

for Laser Energetics (LLE), University of Rochester, 

on the OMEGA laser, in exploring other science 

that will offer unique opportunities to observe 

the properties of matter under extreme pressures 

and densities. 

second time, MIT also undertook a major effort 

to organize the now annual OMEGA Laser 

Users’ Group Workshop. This workshop brought 

together scientists and students from all over the 

world to discuss current research and to help LLE 

enhance its facility and procedures for improved 

collaboration by outside scientists. 

In the exploration of HEDP, the Division places 

great importance 

on the training and 

accomplishments 

of its seven PhD students 

and its Postdoctoral 

Associate. 

They are all intensely 

involved in all Division 

projects at LLNL 

and LLE, and they 

perform major work 

on the Division’s accelerator 

at the PSFC, 

where they calibrate 

MIT-developed diagnostics 

and participate 

in other basic 

research. 

Cryogenic Hohlraum 

(length ~ 9mm) 

~200m 

National Ignition Facility (NIF) 

Target chamber 

The Division also collaborated with LLE and did 

its own original research at there, where the 30- 

kJ, 60-beam OMEGA laser provides an important 

test bed for ICF experiments. This collaborative 

work will provide (using novel diagnostic techniques) 

comprehensive diagnostic information 

about ICF plasmas by making spectral, spatial, 

and temporal measurements of fusion products. 

MIT diagnostics and experiments on the OMEGA 

laser facility support LLE’s programmatic objectives, 

MIT’s own scientific goals, and research 

programs of other users from universities and 

national laboratories around the world. For the 

In the NIF, a 2-mm-diameter capsule containing fuel for fusion reactions is compressed by 

x-rays inside a laser-driven radiation cavity (hohlraum) which resides in a 10-m-diameter 

target chamber. The optics for the 2-MegaJoule laser cover the area of 3 football fields. In 

the upcoming ignition campaign, it is expected that the fusion energy released by such a 

fuel capsule will exceed the laser energy used to compress and heat it. Photo/LLE 


Attendees at the MIT-organized 2010 Omega Laser Users Group Workshop included 115 researchers from 19 

universities, 15 centers and major laboratories, and 5 countries. Forty-five were students, and many made engaging 

presentations at the workshop. Photo/LLE 


The NIF began high-power operations with surrogate 

ICF targets in the fall of 2009, and the 

PSFC’s HEDP Division was active from the very 

beginning in collecting data with MIT-devel- 

Shown behind the target chamber of the Division’s Cockroft-Walton Accelerator at 

MIT are the Division’s seven Ph.D. students and Post-doctoral Associate Maria Babu 

Johnson. From left to right are Mike Rosenberg, Mario Manuel, Dan Casey, Hans 

Rinderknecht, Dr. Johnson, Alex Zylstra, Caleb Waugh and Nareg Sinenian. The 

accelerator was used for a wide range of purposes in the development and calibration 

of ICF diagnostics for experiments at OMEGA and NIF. 

oped diagnostics, developing new diagnostic 

techniques, and contributing to the analysis of 

data and experiment performance. The Magnetic 

Recoil Spectrometer (MRS) is being used to measure 

high-resolution spectra of 16 - 30 MeV DT 

neutrons. This is accomplished by measuring the 

spectra of protons or deuterons scattered by the 

neutrons in a special foil. The spectra of primary 

14.1 MeV neutrons give information about fusion 

yield and plasma temperature, while spectra of 

down-scattered neutrons that have lost energy 

through interactions with fuel ions provide a measure 

of the compression of the fuel. 

The next diagnostic technique uses MIT-developed 

compact proton spectrometers to measure 

the energy and yield of protons born at 14.7 MeV 

during fusion in fuel capsules containing D and 

3 

He. The energy is a measure of the capsule areal 

density, which causes the protons to slow down 

while leaving a capsule. Fusion protons are generated 

at two times: first at shock bang time, when 

shock waves coalesce at the capsule center; and 

later at compression bang time, when the capsule 

and fuel are compressed to higher temperature 

and density. The spectrometers record two separate 

proton lines, and give areal densities at the 

two different times. Since the spectrometers are 


Two proton spectrometers measured the spectra of 

fusion protons leaving a NIF fuel capsule in different 

directions for purposes of studying implosion symmetry 

and areal density. Photo/LLE 

A recent experiment at the OMEGA laser facility used fusion to study fusion. A laserdriven 

ICF capsule (upper left) produced monoenergetic 3- and 15-MeV protons 

through fusion reactions, and the protons were used to make radiographs of another 

ICF capsule imploded by x-rays generated by the interaction of 30 laser beams with 

the inner wall of a gold hohlraum. The colors inside the hohlraum wall indicate laser 

intensity in units of watts per cm 2 . In the 15-MeV radiographs shown here (recorded at 

different times during laser drive) the capsule is in the center, the gold hohlraum is the 

light-colored outer ring, and the patterns between capsule and hohlraum are due to 

electromagnetic fields and plasma jets. This work is discussed in Science, vol. 327, page 

1231 (2010). Photo/LLE 

very compact, a number of them are utilized simultaneously 

at different directions around the 

capsules for measuring the symmetry of capsule 

compression at both shock bang time and compression 

bang time. A third diagnostic is being 

developed to measure the precise times corresponding 

to shock and compression bang. This 

is a proton time-of-flight detector, which utilizes 

a special kind of diamond to measure the time 

evolution of the fusion-proton fluence at a detector 

location. 

In addition to using charged fusion products to 

study the dynamics of imploded ICF fuel capsules 

(including cryogenic fuel capsules) during ex- 

periments by LLE researchers, MIT scientists have 

performed a wide range of their own important 

experiments at LLE this year. One particularly important 

series of MIT experiments involved the use 

of monoenergetic, charged-particle radiography 

to study electric and magnetic fields and plasma 

flow in indirect-drive ICF experiments. These are 

scaled-down versions of experiments to be performed 

at the NIF (laser beams incident on the 

inner walls of a small container called a hohlraum 

generate x-rays that cause an ICF fuel capsule to 

implode). Several papers about this work were 

published in Physical Review Letters, and one was 

recently published in the journal Science. 


Waves and Beams 

Rick Temkin, Head, Waves and Beams Division. 

The Waves and Beams Division conducts research 

on novel sources of electromagnetic radiation, 

and on the generation and acceleration of 

charged particle beams. 


Background 

The Waves and Beams Division, headed by 

PSFC Associate Director Dr. Richard Temkin, 

conducts research on novel sources of electromagnetic 

radiation, and on the generation 

and acceleration of charged particle beams. All 

research programs within the Division emphasize 

substantial graduate student and postdoctoral 

associate involvement. High-power microwaves 

are needed for scientific, industrial, military and 

medical applications, including: heating hightemperature 

plasmas in nuclear fusion energy 

research; accelerating high-power beams of electrons; 

processing materials in the semiconductor 

and ceramics industries; advanced radar systems; 

and electron and nuclear magnetic resonance 

spectroscopy. Intense beams of charged particles 

have scientific, industrial and medical applications, 

such as high-energy and nuclear physics 

research, heavy ion fusion, cancer therapy and 

homeland security. 


Gyrotron Research 

Gyrotrons are under development for electron-cyclotron 

heating of present day and future plasma 

devices, including the ITER and DIII-D tokamaks; 

for high-frequency radar; and for spectroscopy. 

These applications require gyrotron tubes operating 

at frequencies in the range 90-500 GHz 

at power levels of up to several megawatts. In 

recent research, the Gyrotron Group has been 

investigating the operating characteristics of a 

1.5 MW, 110 GHz gyrotron with an internal mode 

converter and a depressed collector. The goal 

is to improve the efficiency of these gyrotrons 

and to extend their performance to frequencytunable 

operation. 

A novel internal mode converter has been designed, 

built and tested for improvement of the gyrotron 

output beam quality. The new mode converter 

uses smoothly varying mirror surfaces, which are 

easier to fabricate and less sensitive to alignment. 

Testing showed excellent agreement between the 

theoretical predictions and experimental results. 

Research is now underway on understanding in 

far greater detail the mode competition that 

occurs in gyrotrons utilizing highly overmoded 

resonators. The sequence of modes 

excited during the turn-on of the MIT gyrotron 

has been m e asure d o n a nanosecond time 

scale, and is being compared with theory. The 

modes excited during the voltage rise of the gyrotron 

have been predicted by the multi-mode, 

time-dependent code MAGY written by 

scientists at the University of Maryland and the 

Naval Research Lab. Our results show that the 

code may need to be refined to properly predict 

the results observed in the experiments. Future 

research will concentrate on increasing the 

power level of gyrotrons to the multi-megawatt 

range and to demonstrating frequency tuning 

over a wide range. This research is funded by the 

US DOE Office of Fusion Energy Sciences and is a 

collaborative effort with General Atomics, Communications 

Power Industries (CPI), Calabazas 

Creek Research, Tech-X Corp., University Maryland 

and University Wisconsin. 

Accelerator Physics Research 

The research effort on high-gradient accelerators is 

focused on high-frequency linear accelerators for 

application to future 

electron colliders. In 

recent research, the 

Accelerator Research 

Group continued operation 

and improvement 

of the Haimson 

Research Corporation 

25 MeV, 17 GHz electron 

accelerator. This 

is the highest power 

accelerator on the MIT 

campus and the highest 

frequency standalone 

accelerator in the 

world. The accelerator 

laboratory has been 

upgraded for operation 

of a novel highpower 

17 GHz source, 

a Choppertron, built 

by Haimson Research. 

We have also installed 

a dedicated test line 

for measuring high- 

Graduate student David Tax works with the 1.5 MW, 110 GHz 

gyrotron and superconducting magnet. 


ITER Transmission Line Research 

MIT / Haimson Research Accelerator Laboratory with the 25 

MeV Electron Accelerator. 

gradient accelerator structures and observing breakdown 

at high field strengths. A novel Photonic Bandgap 

Structure with elliptical rods was designed by 

MIT and built and tested at SLAC. The results look 

very promising. Future research will include experiments 

with dielectric structures, and a collaboration 

with Los Alamos on superconducting accelerator 

structures. This research is funded by the US DOE 

Office of High-Energy Physics. 

ITER ECH components under test in the Millimeter Wave Laboratory; graduate students 

shown (left to right) Elizabeth Kowalski, Emilio Nanni and Brian Munroe. 

The US is responsible for designing, building and 

fabricating the transmission line system for electron-cyclotron 

heating and current drive on ITER. 

MIT is conducting research on the losses in transmission 

line components in collaboration with 

the US ITER Project Office, Oak Ridge National 

Lab, General Atomics and the JAEA Laboratory in 

Japan. The transmission lines will be carrying 24 

MW of power over more than 100 meters of path 

length, so that losses in the lines must be kept 

to the absolute minimum. The largest loss in the 

line occurs at the 90-degree miter bends, where 

0.6% loss is expected theoretically. This is a small 

fractional loss, but represents 144 kW of power 

lost from a 24 MW microwave heating system. We 

have, for the first time, successfully measured the 

small loss in a pair of miter bends using a vector 

network analyzer, and found good agreement 

with theory. We have also developed a new theory 

of the interference effects of the weak high-order 

modes that travel with the fundamental mode in 

a corrugated waveguide. The results predict tilt 

and offset of the fields radiated at the end of the 

waveguide line. These predictions have been validated 

in experimental research at the JAEA Lab 

in Japan. This research is funded by the US ITER 

Project Office at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. 

High Power Microwave Research 

The transmission of high-power microwaves through 

the atmosphere may be limited by breakdown 

and plasma formation. Using our 1.5 MW, 110 GHz 

gyrotron operating in 3 microsecond pulses and 

focused to a one-centimeter spot size, we have 

observed gas breakdown in air and other gases 

over a range of pressures. The breakdown produces 

an ordered array of filaments rather than 

a simple plasma blob. Research continues to understand 

the pressure dependence of the array 

formation and to compare with theory. We are also 

planning an experiment to generate more than 

one hundred watts of power near 95 GHz using 

an overmoded traveling wave tube. If successful, 

this research could lead to practical sources in the 

terahertz frequency range. This research is funded 

by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. 



Fusion Technology 

Joe Minervini, Head, Fusion Technology Division. 

The Fusion Technology Division conducts 

research on conventional and 

superconducting magnets for fusion 

devices and other large-scale power 

and energy systems, as well as for novel 

accelerator development. 


Background 

The Fusion Technology and Engineering 

Division, headed by Dr. Joseph Minervini, 

conducts research on conventional and 

superconducting magnets for fusion devices and 

other large-scale power and energy systems. The 

Division has broad experience in all aspects of 

engineering research, design, development, and 

construction of magnet systems and supporting 

power and cryogenic systems. The Division’s 

major emphasis is on support of the US national 

fusion program and international collaboration, 

where the PSFC provides leadership through the 

Magnets Enabling Technology program. 

This work is performed by an interdisciplinary 

team of Masters and PhD level engineers, postdoctoral 

fellows, graduate students, designers, 

and technicians with backgrounds in mechanical, 

electrical, and nuclear engineering, in materials 

science, and in engineering physics. The team 

has extensive capabilities in the areas of electromagnetic 

analysis, both transient and steady 

state, 2D and 3D magnetic field analysis, including 

non-linear magnetic materials and permanent 

magnets; and in structural analysis, including 

2D and 3D Finite Element Analysis. The Division 

maintains an extensive laboratory infrastructure 

for testing and component development, and 

has valuable experience in working collaboratively 

with industry on development and fabrication 

of advanced scientific systems. In addition, 

Division projects support masters and doctoral 

level research for graduate students in the departments 

of Nuclear Science and Engineering, 

Physics, Mechanical Engineering, and Materials 

Science and Engineering. 

The Fusion Technology and Engineering Division 

has applied its expertise to both large and small 

projects and its outstanding interdisciplinary skills 

to a wide range of engineering projects. Areas 

of interest include: conventional and superconducting 

magnets and magnet systems for fusion 

and advanced power systems; superconducting 

cable-in-conduit conductor analysis and development; 

high-strength, long-fatigue-life materials 

development for electromechanical devices; application 

of advanced superconducting materials; 

stability, quench and protection systems for superconducting 

magnets; high-gradient magnetic 

separation (HGMS) systems for water treatment 

and biological materials separation; high-field 

magnet design and development; magnet safety 

analysis; pulsed magnets using conventional, 

nitrogen-cooled copper, and superconducting 

magnetic energy storage (SMES). The Division 

has also performed R&D and magnet design for 

high-speed ground transportation, space, and 

naval applications. 


During the past year the Division’s efforts were 

focused primarily in three major areas: research 

and development of very compact, high-field superconducting 

cyclotron accelerators for detection 

of Strategic Nuclear Materials (SNM); application 

of High-Temperature Superconducting (HTS) 

materials and systems to fusion magnet systems; 

application of HTS materials to increase power 

grid efficiency, reliability, and stability. 

Led by Dr. Timothy Antaya, a Principal Research 

Engineer in the Division, a strong program and 

capability is being developed in the realm of applications 

of very high field, superconducting 

cyclotrons for medical, security, and research. 

Foremost among these applications, the Division 

is now working on four different projects funded 

by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). 

A basic research program called the “Frontier 

Studies Program” is aimed at understanding the 

physics and technology for sensing fissile materials 

at long range. This program is led by Dr. 

Antaya and supports two graduate students in 

fundamental topics applied to this technology. 

The research includes both theoretical and experimental 

studies. 

More directed research is supported by DTRA funds 

through awards from the Los Alamos National 

Laboratory (LANL) and the Pennsylvania State University 

– Applied Research Laboratory (PSU-ARL). 

This work is aimed at developing a new type of inspection 

system that will result in a rapidly relocatable 

system for the active interrogation of objects 

at a distance for concealed SNM. Under the LANL 

project we successfully completed a conceptual 

design study for the construction of a 250 MeV, 1 

mA, high-extraction-efficiency, superconducting, 


(a) (b) (c) 

This assembly is a critical element of the ISIS Active Interrogation Experiment. An electron beam energy selection magnet for a 60 MeV linac with 

the top half removed exposes an intricate evacuated beam channel in which the electron beam propagates (a). The 60 MeV electron beam actually 

exits the evacuated beam pipe through a thin aluminum window (b). After passing through the window and into the air, the electron beam strikes a 

set of carbon plates (c) and stops, releasing an intense photon beam that then travels into space to interrogate large objects suspected of containing 

concealed strategic nuclear materials. 

isochronous cyclotron proton accelerator. In December 

2010, this project leadership was assumed 

by PSU-ARL, and MIT has, under contract to them, 

continued into the final design and fabrication 

stage of this device, referred to as the Megatron. 

MIT is also under contract to PSU-ARL to develop 

a proof-of-principle device called the Nanotron, 

a small-scale superconducting cyclotron proton 

accelerator for portable deployment in various 

operational scenarios. 

A fourth project, also using DTRA source funds, has 

been received from Raytheon for the Integrated 

Standoff Inspection System, or ISIS. This is an active 

interrogation nuclear radiation detection system 

that will provide the 

government with an 

accurate and reliable 

inspection system that 

is fully integrated and 

automated. 

Over the last decade, significant worldwide efforts 

have been devoted to development of High-Temperature 

Superconductor (HTS) wires of the first 

generation BSCCO-2223, BSCCO-2212 and the second 

generation YBCO for various electronic device 

applications such as transformers, fault current 

limiters, energy storage systems, magnets and 

power transmission cables. Most HTS tape devices 

have been using configurations employing single 

tape or only a few tapes in parallel. Few cabling 

methods of HTS tapes have been developed. Fusion 

magnet applications require development of 

high-current density cables capable of carrying 

high currents, at high magnetic fields. We have 

A high-energy photon beam can be scanned over 

a target to detect products of induced fissions. 

Under the fusion magnets 

base program, our 

efforts are now directed 

at developing magnet 

technology for devices 

beyond ITER, and toward 

the era of a DEMO. 

We are doing this by the 

development of very 

high current cables 

and joints using YBCO 

2nd-generation hightemperature 

superconductors 

(HTS). 

These two views show an elevation and a cross-section 

of the smallest, most compact 10 MeV cyclotron ever 

proposed. At the bottom of each view is a mechanical 

cryocooler that reduces the temperatures of the 

structure inside the cylindrical cryostat to less than 

10 degrees Kelvin. This allows the superconducting 

coils in the structure to operate at a total circulating 

current of more than 1 million amperes. This current 

produces a magnetic field 120,000 times higher than 

the earth’s magnetic field, reducing the orbits of 

protons accelerating in the structure to at most a few 

centimeters in radius, and allowing a high final energy 

in a compact device. 


developed a new cabling approach to achieve 

these goals, and this year performed various, 

small-scale lab experiments and performance 

analyses. 

We have also continued to promulgate the application 

of similar scale HTS cables, to applications 

in superconducting DC power distribution 

and transmission, with particular emphasis on 

microgrids, and integration of time fluctuating 

renewable power sources into the grid, such as 

solar, wind, etc. 

Other smaller research grants have been awarded 

through one phase-I SBIR from the fusion program, 

and a Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory 

(PPPL) funded project to develop the In-Vessel- 

Coils for the ITER project. 


Educational Outreach 

Paul Rivenberg, Educational Outreach Administrator. 

The Educational Outreach program focuses 

on heightening the interest of K-12 students 

in scientific and technical subjects by bringing 

them together with scientists, engineers, and 

graduate students in laboratory and research 

environments. It is believed this kind of 

interaction encourages young people to 

consider science and engineering careers. 


Background 

The Plasma Science and Fusion Center’s 

educational outreach program is planned 

and organized under the direction of Mr. 

Paul Rivenberg, communications and outreach 

administrator of the PSFC, along with Prof. Jeffrey 

Freidberg, Associate Director. The program 

focuses on heightening the interest of 

K-12 students in scientific and technical subjects 

by bringing them together with scientists, engineers, 

and graduate students in laboratory 

and research environments. It is believed this 

kind of interaction encourages young people 

to consider science and engineering careers. 

Tours of our facilities are also available for the 

general public. 

Recent Activities 

Outreach Days are held twice a year, encouraging 

high school and middle school students 

from around Massachusetts to visit the PSFC for 

hands-on demonstrations and tours. PSFC graduate 

students who volunteer to assist are key to 

the success of our tour programs. The experience 

helps them develop the skill of communicating 

complex scientific principles to those who do not 

have advanced science backgrounds. 

Paul Thomas, known as Mr. Magnet, has created portable physics experiments 

that can be easily brought into schools to teach fundamentals of magnetism and 

electricity. 

Graduate student Istvan Cziegler(right) assigns students the roles of energetic particles 

in his NuVu class about Fusion. 

The Mr. Magnet Program, headed by Mr. Paul 

Thomas, was well known for bringing lively demonstrations 

on magnetism into local elementary 

and middle schools for 17 years. In 2009 the 

program was scaled back to focus entirely on 

in-house educational outreach. Although Paul 

has retired his truck, he has not retired his vision 

of bringing science into elementary school 

classrooms. 

Knowing that his large hands-on experiments 

were becoming a logistical challenge, requiring 

hours to install and break down, Paul decided to 

design demos that could be handled easily and 

transported by anyone. Originally motivated by 

a desire to bring some new 

demonstrations to his niece’s 

school, Paul built three tabletop 

experiments for grades 

K-4, focused on measuring 

voltage, building circuits and 

testing electromagnets. He 

hoped he could make them 

user-friendly enough that 

PSFC employees and alums 

would want to borrow them 

for presentations at their children’s 

schools. These have 

become the foundation of 

the “Portable Elementary Physics 

(PEP) Program.” Any PSFC 

employee interested in bringing 

science into the K-4 classroom 

is welcomed to sign out 


the equipment (or pieces 

of it). Paul Thomas will 

provide training, which 

will also address safety 

issues involved with 

bringing MIT equipment 

into a school. 

For the first time, in Fall 

2010, the PSFC had the 

opportunity to participate 

in the NuVu Studio 

program. This innovative 

educational collaboration 

between MIT and a local 

middle/high school, 

welcomed PSFC graduate 

student Istvan Cziegler to 

coach a two-week studio 

on fusion energy. The 

result was judged to be 

one of the best studios NuVu had presented. 

Senior Research Engineer Paul Woskov works with UROP student Mataeux Gautier on 

the furnace and millimeter-wave active thermal analysis instrumentation for hightemperature 

studies of materials for the Next Generation Nuclear Plant, sponsored by 

the DOE Nuclear Energy University Program. 

The PSFC organizes many educational events for 

the MIT Community, including the PSFC’s annual 

IAP Open House. The PSFC has continued its 

educational collaboration with the MIT Energy 

Club, bringing a variety of interactive plasma 

demonstrations to their very successful “Energy 

Night” at the MIT Museum in October, and the 

MIT New England Energy Showcase in March. 

These events were attended by hundreds of MIT 

students, as well as business entrepreneurs, who 

learned about the latest directions of plasma and 

fusion research. 

The PSFC continues to collaborate with other national 

laboratories on educational events. An annual 

Teacher’s Day (to educate middle school and 

high school teachers about plasmas) and Plasma 

Sciences Expo (to which teachers can bring their 

students) has become a tradition at each year’s 

APS-Division of Plasma Physics meeting. 

Graduate student Zach Hartwig (back) encourages students playing the Alcator 

C-Mod, Jr., video game at the APS-DPP Plasma Sciences Expo. 

The PSFC also continues to be involved with educational 

efforts sponsored by the Coalition for 

Plasma Science (CPS), an organization formed by 

members of universities and national laboratories 

to promote understanding of the field of plasma 

science. PSFC Associate Director Dr. Richard 

Temkin is working with this group on goals that 

include requesting support from Congress and 

funding agencies, strengthening appreciation of 

the plasma sciences by obtaining endorsements 

from industries involved in plasma applications, 

and addressing environmental concerns about 


plasma science. Like Dr. Temkin, Paul Rivenberg is a 

member of the CPS Steering Committee. He works 

with CPS on new initiatives, including overseeing 

the production of a short video about plasma. He 

continues his duties as editor of the Coalition’s 

Plasma Page, which summarizes CPS news and 

accomplishments of interest to members and the 

media. Mr. Rivenberg also heads a subcommittee 

that created and maintains a website to help 

teachers bring the topic of plasma into their classrooms. 

He also works with the Coalition’s Technical 

Materials subcommittee, to develop material 

that introduces the layman to different aspects 

of plasma science. 


Appointments, Awards, 

Activities 

Awards 

Appointments and Promotions 

2010: Dr. Anne White appointed Assistant 

Professor in NSE, joins PSFC 

2011: Dr. Chikang Li – promoted to Senior 

Research Scientist 

Dr. Brian LaBombard – promoted to 

Senior Research Scientist 

Dr. Felix Para appointed Assistant 

Professor in NSE, joins PSFC 

Dr. Martin Greenwald appointed Associate 

Director, replacing Prof. Jeffrey 

Freidberg, who retired in 2011. 

Awards 

During recent years, a number of PSFC staff members 

have received awards: 

In 2009, PSFC Director Prof. Miklos Porkolab received 

the James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma 

Physics, from the American Physical Society – Division 

of Plasma Physics. 

In 2010, he received the Fusion Power Associates’ 

Distinguished Career Award. 

Dr. Darren Garnier received the 2009 Fusion Power Associates 

Excellence in Fusion Engineering Award. 

In 2010, Jan Egedal, Associate Professor in Physics, 

was elected as an APS Fellow. 

That year graduate students Elizabeth Kowalski 

and Christian Haakonsen were selected to receive 

2010 U. S. Department of Energy Office of Science 

fellowships. 

In December 2011, Professor Ron Parker will receive 

the Fusion Power Associates Distinguished 

Career Award. 

In 2011, Prof. Anne White received the Department 

of Energy Office of Science’s Early Career 

Research Award. The five-year awards are designed 

to bolster the nation’s scientific workforce 

by providing support to exceptional researchers 


during the crucial early career years, when many 

scientists do their most formative work. 

In 2011, Stephen Wukitch was elected as an APS 

Fellow. 

Also in 2011, graduate student Brian Munroe won 

the Best Student Paper award at the Particle Accelerator 

Conference (PAC’11). 

From 2009 – 2011 eight PSFC employees have 

been honored with MIT Infinite Mile Awards: Administrative 

Officer, Tom Hyrcaj; Project Technician, 

Richard Lations; Head Mechanical Engineer, 

Rui Vieira; Principal Research Scientists Bob 

Granetz and Brian LaBombard; Radio-Frequency 

Instrumentation Engineer, Richard Murray; Project 

Technician Frank Shefton; Alternator Supervisor 

Mike Rowell. 

Graduate students Christian Haakonsen and Elizabeth Kowolski 

received 2010 DOE Science Fellowships. 

Activities 

The PSFC celebrates colleague achievements 

throughout the year at special social occasions, 

including a summer BBQ on the grounds of MIT, an 

Ice Cream Social, and an end-of-the-year Holiday 

Gathering. Graduate students are also honored 

yearly for their contributions to the Center’s educational 

outreach activities with a dessert party, 

during which they receive rewards based on the 

amount of outreach they did over the past year. 

Prof. Anne White is the recipient of a 

Department of Energy Early Career Research 

Award (2011-2016). 

Graduate students have 

become the experts at 

giving overviews and 

tours of the Center. Here 

they celebrate their 

participation in PSFC 

outreach activities. 

Pictured here (left to right) 

are Geoff Olynyk, Yuri 

Podpaly, Roman Ochoukov, 

Christian Haakonsen, 

Director Miklos Porkolab, 

and David Tax (dressed to 

celebrate Boston’s Stanley 

Cup victory). 


42 PSFC Progress Report 09–11 

Design and staff photographs: Mary Pat McNally and Paul Rivenberg

The Plasma Science and Fusion Center is 

recognized as one of the leading university 

research laboratories in the physics and 

engineering aspects of magnetic and 

inertial fusion.

Plasma Science & Fusion Center 

Massachusetts Institute of Technology 

77 Massachusetts Avenue 

Cambridge, MA 02139 

Ph: 617. 253.8100 

info@psfc.mit.edu 

www.psfc.mit.edu

Download a copy of the latest PSFC Progress Report - Plasma ...

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?