Need an Expert?

Whether you’re reporting on fusion energy or science, or have questions about physics, chances are we have an expert you can interview. See inside for details on renowned experts at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, a national laboratory managed by for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. Atiba Brereton Expert Topics: Diagnostic equipment, Computer aided design (CAD), Fusion energy Atiba Brereton is a diagnostic engineer who con- tributes to the design, fabrication, and installation of various types of diagnostic equipment on PPPL’s National Spherical Torus Experiment-Upgrade (NSTX-U). He has worked on several diagnostics such as SPRED (Survey, Poor Resolution, Extended Domain), a spectrometer that will be used Fusion. Energy. Plasma. Physics. to measure impurities in the divertor of the , and FIReTIP . Stellarators. Radioactivity. (Far InfraRed Tangential Interferometer/Polarimeter), which will be used to monitor plasma density. He is also a popular PPPL tour Nanotechnology. Astrophysics. guide and a frequent volunteer with the Offi ce of Communications Computational simulations. and Public Outreach. Vacuum technology. Materials science. Electronics. STEM education.

These are some of the areas of expertise of sta at the Ahmed Diallo Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. PPPL is devoted to Expert Topics: Laser diagnostics, Plasma physics creating new knowledge about the physics of plasmas Ahmed Diallo is leader of the pedestal structure — hot, charged gases that make up the fourth state of and control topical science group of the National matter — and to developing practical solutions for the Spherical Torus Experiment-Upgrade (NSTX-U) and creation of controlled fusion energy. In addition, results is a recipient of a DOE Early Career award. He is of PPPL research have ranged from a portable nuclear developing a fast-burst laser system to investigate the dynamics materials detector for anti-terrorist use to universally of the pedestal as well as to control it. He has contributed to employed computer codes for analyzing and predicting the upgrade of the Thomson scattering diagnostic system in the outcome of fusion experiments. The Laboratory is preparation for the NSTX-U, and has participated in the operation managed by Princeton University for the U.S. Department of the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) and the of Energy’s O ce of Science. Thomson scattering system prior to their upgrades. He has more than 15 years of experience in laser-aided plasma diagnostics, has authored many scientifi c papers and given more than 10 talks at national and international scientifi c meetings.

To reach any of these experts, please contact Larry Bernard at (609) 243-2755 or email [email protected].

1 Neway Atnafu Fatima Ebrahimi Expert Topics: Mechanical engineering, Project Expert Topics: Theory and computational extended management, Structural analysis, Cooling systems, magnetohydrodynamics, Plasma physics Crane operation Fatima Ebrahimi is a Research Physicist at the PPPL Neway Atnafu is a licensed professional engineer Theory Department and an Affiliated Research (PE) and certified project management professional Scholar at the Department of Astrophysical Sciences, (PMP). He is a mechanical engineer and engineering project Princeton University. She has many years of experience in theoret- manager who has worked on many aspects of the National ical and global computational extended magnetohydrodynamics Spherical Torus Experiment-Upgrade (NSTX-U), including the (MHD) with wide applications to laboratory fusion and astro- cooling systems, neutral beam relocation, vacuum vessel analysis, physical plasmas. Her main research interests are MHD stability magnetic coil bus bars, passive plate modifications and structural in fusion plasmas, momentum transport, dynamos, and magnetic support design. He is the responsible engineer for the NSTX-U reconnection in laboratory fusion and astrophysical plasmas. cooling systems, and is expert in the safe operation of mobile and She has written many papers over a wide range of topics and overhead cranes, hoisting and rigging. Atnafu also assigns permits peer-reviewed journals. She is an elected executive committee for core drilling of concrete structures throughout the Laboratory. member of the APS Topical Group in Plasma Astrophysics (GPAP), He is an executive board member for the American Society of 2018-2021, and program committee member for U.S. Magnetic Mechanical Engineers, Greater Trenton Section. Fusion Research (MFR) Strategic Directions, 2017-2018.

Amitava Bhattacharjee Philip Efthimion Expert Topics: Space and Astrophysical Plasma Expert Topics: Plasma physics, Electric and Physics, Fusion theory, , magnetic theory and applications, Instrumentation Turbulence, High-Performance and Exascale Philip Efthimion heads the PPPL Plasma Science Computing and Technology (PS&T) Department, overseeing Amitava Bhattacharjee, a plasma physicist, is Professor disciplines ranging from plasma astrophysics to of Astrophysical Sciences at Princeton University and Head of nanotechnology synthesis. He has authored or co-authored more the PPPL Theory Department. He is also Director of the Princeton than 200 papers on a broad range of plasma physics and tech- Center for Heliophysics. His expertise is in the broad application of nology topics, teaches Fusion Plasmas and Plasma Diagnostics theory to develop fusion and in space and astrophysical plasmas. He in the Program in Plasma Physics in the Princeton University can discuss many aspects of fusion, space and astrophysics, includ- Department of Astrophysical Sciences, and is a Fellow of the ing magnetic reconnection, turbulence and singularity formation, American Physical Society. kinetic theory, free-electron lasers, and complex plasmas. He also is heading efforts to simulate the first complete high-fidelity model of a fusion plasma as part of the U.S. Exascale Computing Project. Prof. Bhattacharjee has won numerous awards, and is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Geophysical Union.

2 3 Robert Ellis Charles A. Gentile Expert Topics: Mechanical engineering for high- Expert Topics: Tritium handling technology power radio frequency heating components and Charles Gentile is head of the Tritium Systems Group plasma diagnostics. at PPPL. He led a team at PPPL to create a Miniature Robert Ellis is the responsible engineer for diagnos- Integrated Nuclear Detection System, called MINDS, tics on the National Spherical Torus Experiment- which can be used to scan moving vehicles, luggage, Upgrade (NSTX-U), and mechanical engineer for radio frequency cargo vessels, and the like for specific nuclear signatures asso- heating equipment for PPPL and collaborative laboratories. He ciated with materials employed in radiological weapons. MINDS has designed radio frequency heating equipment and diagnostics could be deployed at workplace entrances, post offices, toll- for fusion research centers that include the DIII-D tokamak at booths, airports, commercial shipping ports, and in police cruisers General Atomics, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), to detect the transportation of unauthorized nuclear materials. He the Joint European Torus (JET) in the United Kingdom, and the and other PPPL inventors won the 2016 Edison Patent Award for Korean Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR) inventing an on-demand method to create a badly needed isotope facility in South Korea. used routinely in medical imaging to diagnose diseases such as cancer and heart disease.

David A. Gates Stefan Gerhardt Expert Topics: Stellarators, Tokamaks Expert Topics: Fusion energy, Plasma diagnostics, David Gates is a principal research physicist for Plasma physics, Stellarators, Tokamaks the advanced projects division of PPPL, and the Stefan Gerhardt is head of Experimental Research stellarator physics leader at the Laboratory. In the Operations for the National Spherical Torus latter capacity he leads collaborative efforts with Experiment-Upgrade (NSTX-U). He operates numer- the Wendelstein 7-X and Large Helical Device stellarator projects ous diagnostics on NSTX-U, along with designing plasma control in Germany and Japan, respectively. He is an American Physical schemes and running physics experiments. He has previously Society Fellow. worked on a wide variety of fusion machines, including spherical tokamaks, stellarators, and field-reversed configurations. Gerhardt won the Fusion Power Associates 2016 Excellence in Fusion Engineering Award.

4 5 Erik P. Gilson Walter Guttenfelder Expert Topics: Non-neutral plasmas and beam Expert topics: Fusion energy, Plasma physics, dynamics, Plasma astrophysics, Magnetized liquid Turbulence, Tokamaks, Stellarators metals for plasma research, Advanced liquid Walter Guttenfelder is a research physicist and leader centrifuge applications of the transport and turbulence topical science group Erik Gilson is a principal research physicist with in the National Spherical Torus Experiment-Upgrade expertise in plasmas in which self-electric and self-magnetic fields (NSTX-U) project. He has over 15 years of research experience are dominant. He studies dynamics and instability of intense in the area of plasma turbulence and transport, with a focus on charged particle beams. Such beams can be applied to high-en- validating direct numerical simulations and models with mea- ergy and nuclear physics, medical isotope generation and proton surements. He has worked on and collaborated with numerous therapies, free-electron lasers, and high-energy density physics. tokamak and stellarator experiments. He enjoys giving tours and Other research aims to understand turbulence in magnetized outreach talks on fusion plasmas and is the current editor of the liquid metal flows. These experiments simulate accretion disks – online U.S. Burning Plasma Organization eNews newsletter. clouds of ionized gas that accumulate on objects such as black holes or neutron stars. His advanced liquid centrifuge provides improved flow that reduces turbulence at high speed to allow more efficient separation for use in industry.

Robert J. Goldston Richard Hawryluk Expert Topics: Fusion energy, Plasma physics, Fusion energy, ITER, NSTX-U, NSTX-U Recovery Plasma exhaust, Tokamaks, Non-proliferation and Project, Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor arms control A physicist who formerly headed the National Spheri- Robert Goldston is a professor of Astrophysical cal Torus Experiment-Upgrade (NSTX-U) Recovery Sciences at Princeton University and an international Project, Richard Hawryluk has been at PPPL since 1974 leader in the fields of plasma physics and magnetic fusion energy. and was Head of the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR), the first From 1997 to 2009 he served as Director of PPPL. He is the author facility to produce fusion with a high-power mix of deuterium and of 220 papers in journals and conference proceedings, and in 1995 tritium, from 1991–1997. He served as deputy director of PPPL from co-authored with Paul Rutherford the textbook “Introduction to 1997–2008; Head of the ITER and Tokamaks Department from Plasma Physics.” He is a contributing author to five other books. 2009–2011 and again from 2013–2016; Interim Lab Director until In 1988, he was awarded the American Physical Society Prize for July 2018; and deputy director-general for the Administration Excellence in Plasma Physics. Goldston is a fellow of the American Department of ITER from 2011–2013. Hawryluk has won numerous Physical Society. He received a 2014 Leading Global Thinker award awards, including the American Physical Society Prize for Excel- from Foreign Policy magazine for his work on arms control and lence in Plasma Physics. He is a fellow of the American Association a 2015 Nuclear Fusion Award at the International Atomic Energy for the Advancement of Science and of the American Physical Agency’s 2016 Nuclear Fusion Energy Conference in Kyoto, Japan. Society. He is chair of the board of editors of Nuclear Fusion, the leading monthly journal in the field of controlled fusion energy.

6 7 Michael Jaworski Bruce E. Koel Expert Topics: Liquid and solid technologies for Expert Topics: Materials chemistry, Plasma- plasma-facing components; Low-temperature materials interactions, Surface science plasma diagnostics; Atmospheric-pressure plasma Bruce Koel is a professor of Chemical and Biological systems Engineering at Princeton University. He is an associ- Michael Jaworski is a research physicist who leads ated faculty member in Chemistry, Mechanical and the materials and plasma-facing components topical science Aerospace Engineering, the Princeton Institute for the Science and group for the National Spherical Torus Experiment-Upgrade Technology of Materials (PRISM), the Andlinger Center for Energy (NSTX-U) and serves as responsible engineer for plasma-facing and the Environment (ACEE), and a collaborator on the Lithium components. As leader of the topical science group he develops Tokamak Experiment-β at PPPL. Koel is a fellow of the American program plans and coordinates experiments directed toward Association for the Advancement of Science, the American deepening understanding of the behavior of materials and com- Physical Society and the American Vacuum Society. ponents within magnetic fusion plasma experiments. As respon- sible engineer for plasma-facing components, he directs a team of mechanical engineering designers, analysts and technicians over seven project areas corresponding to different regions of the NSTX-U Recovery Plan.

Hantao Ji Jerry D. Levine Expert Topics: Plasma astrophysics, Magnetic Expert Topics: Nuclear energy, Nuclear safety reconnection, Magnetorotational instability, Jerry Levine has more than 35 years experience in Dynamo effects and magnetic self-organization, managing, coordinating and reviewing licensing, Free-surface liquid metal flows across strong safety, and environmental matters for fusion-energy magnetic fields research activities and the nuclear waste program. Hantao Ji is a professor of astrophysical sciences at Princeton As the head of the Environment Safety and Health Department, University and a Distinguished Research Fellow at PPPL. For more Levine directs a department of more than 40 professionals than 20 years he has been interested in the growing fields of responsible for oversight and support of activities ranging from plasma physics and astrophysics, and has dedicated his career to radiation protection and electrical safety to emergency prepared- bringing them closer together. ness, environmental protection and security.

8 9 Dick Majeski George “Hutch” Neilson Expert topics: Fusion, Plasma, Tokamaks, Walls for Expert topics: ITER fabrication, Stellarators, Fusion Fusion Devices reactor design, Fusion strategic planning Dick Majeski is a principal research physicist and George “Hutch” Neilson manages PPPL’s ITER head of the Lithium Tokamak Experiment (LTX), fabrication activities, which include design and a device that allows scientists to study the eff ect of fabrication of several ITER diagnostic systems and the liquid metal on fusion reactions. He is an expert in tokamaks associated shielding and structural support. As PPPL’s head of and walls for fusion devices, especially those coated in lithium. Advanced Projects, Neilson is the national technical coordinator for U.S. collaborations with the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator exper- iment in Germany. He also oversees advanced design activities, including the U.S. system studies program and collaborations with South Korea and China on studies of fusion engineering facilities that would take the next steps beyond ITER toward fusion power plants.

Jonathan E. Menard Charles L. Neumeyer Expert Topics: Fusion energy, NSTX-U, Plasma Expert Topics: ITER, Power systems, NSTX-U physics, Tokamaks Charles Neumeyer is a registered professional engi- Jonathan Menard is program director for the National neer with more than 40 years experience in advanced Spherical Torus Experiment-Upgrade (NSTX-U) and technology research and project management. His is responsible for guiding the scientifi c research experience covers functions ranging from design to program of the NSTX-U, working with an international research procurement and commissioning. Neumeyer has had managerial team. His research interests include the magnetohydrodynamic roles in activities associated with ITER and the National Spherical (MHD) equilibrium and stability properties of spherical torus (ST) Torus Experiment-Upgrade (NSTX-U). He has been responsible for and tokamak plasmas, advanced operating scenarios in the ST, U.S. equipment contributions for the ITER Steady State Electrical and the development of next-step ST options for fusion energy. Network, which will supply AC power to all ITER plant systems, is deputy head of the PPPL Engineering Department and serves as the Chief Engineer of PPPL.

10 11 Francesca Poli Valeria Riccardo Expert Topics: Integrated tokamak modeling Expert Topics: Fusion energy, tokamak design, Francesca Poli’s expertise is in simulating the evolu- ITER, plasma-facing materials tion of tokamak plasma discharges. She uses waves Valeria Riccardo is PPPL’s head of engineering, the and neutral beams to modify the plasma current largest department at PPPL. She worked for more profile and to optimize the plasma performance. She than 20 years at the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy applies her expertise to interpret existing experiments, to predict in Oxfordshire, England, which operates the Joint European and design new experiments, and to predict plasma performance Torus (JET) and the Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak (MAST) in ITER, the international demonstration of the practicality of facility, a sister facility to PPPL. As chief engineer at the Culham fusion being built in the south of France. She is also an ITER Center for five years, she was responsible for ensuring that the Scientist Fellow, a member of a network of researchers that consequences of any design, installation and operation decision consults with ITER. were understood. She was previously deputy engineering design and manufacture team leader for the ITER-like Wall (ILW) project for five years. The project used the same materials on the interior of the JET tokamak as those that will be used on the interior of the ITER tokamak, the huge international fusion experiment being built in Cadarache, France.

Yevgeny Raitses Masaaki Yamada Expert Topics: Low Temperature Plasma and Gas Expert Topics: Magnetic reconnection, Tokamaks Discharges, Plasma-Surface Interactions and Plasma Masaaki Yamada is a Distinguished Laboratory Diagnostics, Plasma Thrusters for Spacecraft, Research Fellow and the head of the Magnetic Plasma-Based Synthesis and Processing of Reconnection Experiment (MRX) research program. Nanomaterials He is also a co-principal investigator of the Center Yevgeny Raitses is a principal research physicist who heads the for Magnetic Self-Organization in Laboratory and Astrophysical Laboratory for Plasma Nanosynthesis (LPN) at PPPL, which Plasmas, a Physics Frontier Center established by the National conducts research on plasma science and materials science Science Foundation (NSF). associated with the use of plasma to create new high-quality nanomaterials at low cost and at an accelerated pace. His research in this area could be applied to a broad range of fields from micro- chips to biopharmaceutical manufacturing. He also leads research on physics and engineering of plasma thrusters for satellite applications that will eventually provide propulsion and steering for missions to distant objects in the solar system and beyond. His research interests also cover emerging fields of plasma-catalysis and plasma medicine.

12 13 Michael C. Zarnstorff Expert Topics: Fusion energy, Fusion reactor design, International collaborations, Plasma physics, Stellarators, Tokamaks Michael Zarnstorff is the deputy director for research at PPPL, where he oversees research that ranges from testing ideas for harnessing fusion to developing rockets for space fl ight. His job encompasses keeping projects aligned with DOE goals and envisioning new research opportunities for PPPL. An award-winning physicist and a co-discoverer of the bootstrap current in magnetically confi ned fusion plasmas, he joined PPPL in 1984 and has been deputy director for research since 2009.

Andrew P. Zwicker Expert Topics: Education, Science literacy, STEM Andrew Zwicker, a physicist, science educator, and a science communicator, heads the Offi ce of Communications and Public Outreach at PPPL. A fellow of the American Physical Society (APS), the American Association of Physics Teachers has named him to its list of 75 leading contributors to physics education. He is a member of the APS Committee on Informing the Public, past editor of the APS Forum on Physics and Society’s newsletter, and a past chair of that Forum. Additionally, he is a past member of the APS Committee on Education. At Princeton University he was a lecturer in the Writing Program for a decade and is currently a faculty advisor for freshmen and sophomores as well as for the women’s soccer team.

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