* - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
|
|
* U N I V E R S I T Y F U S I O N A S S O C I A T I O N

|
|
* News and Information
| March 21, 1999
|
* - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

1. SNOWMASS MEETING REGISTRATION DUE

2. FUSION EDUCATION DAY HELD IN WASH., DC 3/18/99

3. CONGRESSIONAL LETTER IN SUPPORT OF FUSION
- CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVE!

4. SEAB PANEL BEGINS WORK

5. NAS/NRC FUSION SCIENCE REVIEW UPDATE

6. FESAC SUBPANEL ON PROGRAM GOALS, METRICS and CRITERIA

7. APPENDICES

// ---------------------------------------------------------------------- //
1. SNOWMASS MEETING REGISTRATION DUE
// ---------------------------------------------------------------------- //

REGISTRATION REMINDER:

The registration and lodging reservation deadlines for the 1999 Fusion
Summer Study is April 9, 1999.

The 1999 Fusion Summer Study is entitled "Opportunities and Directions in
Fusion Energy Science for the Next Decade", and it will be held at
Snowmass, CO on July 11-23, 1999. This workshop will provide the
participants a setting to develop a scientific and technical basis for
consensus on:

-- The key issues for plasma science, technology, and energy and
environment for fusion energy development.

-- The opportunities and potential contributions of existing and possible
future facilities and programs to reduce fusion development costs and
achieve attractive economic and environmental features.

A web site is available for the latest information regarding this workshop
at: <http://www.pppl.gov/snowmass/>. All necessary registration and lodging
information are available online at this site.

We would request that you and your colleagues register for this conference
as soon as possible. Lodging accommodations should also be arranged now to
get the best price available (prices for rooms and condominiums are listed
on the web page as well as attached to this letter). Accommodations are
made directly with the Snowmass Resort Association.

This workshop is endorsed by the APS Division of Plasma Physics, and it is
co-sponsored by DOE, PPPL, GA, LLNL, MIT/PSFC, LANL, SNL, LBNL, VLT, ORNL,
FPA, and the UFA.

Further information, contact:

Grant Logan <mailto:logan1@llnl.gov>
Rich Hawryluk <mailto:rhawryluk@pppl.gov>
Mike Mauel <mailto:mauel@columbia.edu>
Co-Chairs,
1999 Fusion Energy Sciences Summer Study

// ---------------------------------------------------------------------- //
2. FUSION EDUCATION DAY HELD IN WASH., DC 3/18/99
// ---------------------------------------------------------------------- //

Thursday, March 18th was this year's Fusion Education Day in Washington,
DC. About 30 members of the fusion research community convened in the
Capitol to visit the offices of their House and Senate representatives.
They had an orientation breakfast which was attended by 7 or 8
Congressional staffers and enjoyed an unannounced visit from Congresman
Rush Holt (NJ). About 70-80 member offices were visited, and each were
urged to support the fusion science program in the upcoming budget
discussions.

// ---------------------------------------------------------------------- //
3. CONGRESSIONAL LETTER IN SUPPORT OF FUSION
- CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVE!
// ---------------------------------------------------------------------- //

At the breakfast, a page of talking points in support of the fusion program
was distributed (included in the Appendix A below), and a draft of a Letter
in Support of Fusion Research from Congresspersons Cunningham, Holt,
Bartlett, and Tauscher to Chairman Packard and Ranking Member Visclosky of
the House Subcommittee on Energy and Water Appropriations. The four
co-sponsors are soliciting signatures of as many House members as possible
to generate increased support for fusion research.

It is VERY IMPORTANT to get as many House members as possible to sign this
letter, and we ask, beg, encourage each of you to contact your local
Representatives and ask that they sign this petition. A draft of the
letter in Support of Fusion Energy Research in included in the Appendix B
below.

Without a doubt, it has been the active involvement in Washington of a
broad segment of the fusion community that has played a key role in keeping
the fusion budget fairly level over the past couple of years. The
continuation and expansion of these efforts are key to any hope we have of
getting the fusion budget increased.

// ---------------------------------------------------------------------- //
4. SEAB PANEL BEGINS WORK
// ---------------------------------------------------------------------- //

The DOE Secretary of Energy Advisory Board (SEAB) Task Force on Fusion
Energy will begin its review of the fusion program on March 29-30 in
Washington, DC. The meeting is open to the public and the final agenda
should be available soon.

The Terms of Reference for the review asks the Task Force to "analyze and
provide recommendations on the role of each of these technologies (magnetic
and inertial) as part of a national fusion energy research program." The
Terms state that the analysis "should address whether the current and
planned resources within the Office of Fusion Energy Sciences budget are
appropriately balanced among the concepts to provide the scientific basis
for an informed selection of the best option for development as a fusion
energy source." The Terms state that the Task Force "should specifically
take into account the relationship to international fusion energy programs,
the connection of inertial fusion energy research to the stockpile
stewardship activities in Defense Programs, and the broader science and
educational goals that may be enabled by these fusion technologies."

Members of the SEAB Task Force are:

Chair:
Dr. Richard A. Meserve, Partner, Covington & Burling, Washington, DC
(member of SEAB and of the National Research Council Energy Board)

Vice-Chair:
Dr. Steven E. Koonin, Provost, California Institute of Technology

Members:

Ed Frieman, Director-emeritus, Scripps Institute of Oceanograpy, and former
Deputy Director of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory.

Hermann Grunder, Director, Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Laboratory

Ira Bernstein, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Physics, Yale University

Robert Hanfling, Senior Advisor, Putnam, Hayes and Bartlett, Washington,
DC, a member of SEAB.

Stewart Prager, Professor of Physics, University of Wisconsin

Allen Sessoms, President, Queens College, CCNY, Flushing, NY, a member of SEAB.

About four more members are expected to be named soon.

This review is taking place in response to language contained in last
year's Senate Appropriations Committee report, which explicitly "recommends
that the Department, prior to committing to any future magnetic fusion
program or facilities, conduct a broader review to determine which fusion
technology or technologies the U.S. should pursue to achieve ignition
and/or a fusion energy device."

(Thanks to Steve Dean for info)

// ---------------------------------------------------------------------- //
5. NAS/NRC FUSION SCIENCE REVIEW UPDATE
// ---------------------------------------------------------------------- //

Two years ago, DOE Director of Energy Research Martha Krebs requested an
"independent assessment of the scientific quality of the (DOE Office of
Fusion Energy Sciences) research programs" by the National Research Council
(NRC), an arm of the National Academies of Sciences and Engineering. This
review will begin in May 1999.

In her request letter Krebs said, "Among the things you may wish to
consider in your assessment are the quality of fusion research itself as
evidenced by progress in the understanding of fundamental plasma physics
issues in fusion energy; the impact that fusion energy research has had in
other scientific areas such as astrophysics, geophysics, computational
science, and technological areas such as plasma processing; and the role of
fusion research in the academic community including graduate student
training." Krebs commented, "I anticipate that those who carry out the
assessment will have the broad scientific expertise necessary to provide
the critical judgment required in such a task and that they will represent
a broad segment of the scientific community."

Charles Kennel, Director, Scripps Institute of Oceanography, San Diego will
chair the panel.

A recent law (Federal Advisory Committee Act Amendments of 1997, or FACA)
requires the NRC to list panel members and the NRC expects to post a list
of proposed panel members on its web site (www.nas.edu) in the near future
and then allow 20 days for public comment.

// ---------------------------------------------------------------------- //
6. FESAC SUBPANEL ON PROGRAM GOALS, METRICS and CRITERIA
// ---------------------------------------------------------------------- //

A FESAC sub-panel on Program Goals, Metrics, and Criteria has been formed.

Its charter is to develop, for consideration by the full FESAC:

specific program goals for elements of the Fusion Energy Science Program;
metrics to measure progress toward these goals; and
criteria to consider in evaluating balance between program elements.

This Panel follows the panel on Program Opportunities and Requirements and
is to prepare for FESAC's deliberations on overall program balance and
recommendations on Proof-of-Principle experiments. It is expected that the
results of the Panel's work will be fed into the Fusion Summer Study
(Snowmass) and will receive community feedback from Snowmass plus other
community interactions.

The Panel is comprised of the following people:

Charles Baker (Chair) UCSD
Jill Dahlburg NRL
Ron Davidson PPPL
Steve Dean FPA
Don Grether LBNL
John Lindl LLNL
Mike Mauel Columbia U.
Ned Sauthoff PPPL
John Soures U. of Rochester
Ron Stambaugh GA
Don Steiner RPI

The panel plans to have a progress report to the full FESAC by late May.
Following input to and interactions with Snowmass participants, a final
results report to FESAC will be expected in late Summer 1999.

// ---------------------------------------------------------------------- //
7. Appendicies
// ---------------------------------------------------------------------- //

------------------------------------------------------------------------
A. Talking points on Fusion for Fusion Edcation Day:
------------------------------------------------------------------------

FUSION ENERGY SCIENCES PROGRAM - FY 2000

o Fusion energy research and development is a key component of our nation's
science and technology base that is aimed at creating a virtually
inexhaustible and environmentally benign energy source.

o Dramatic advances in the scientific understanding of fusion plasmas and
in the generation of fusion energy power in the laboratory now leave little
doubt that the large scale production of net fusion energy is practical.
Today's challenge is to make fusion practical by advancing our scientific
base and optimizing fusion systems. To that end, the fusion energy science
program was restructured in 1996 by Congressional directive. It emphasizes
scientific and technological innovation as the driver towards a more
attractive fusion energy concept.

o The Department of Energy's Fusion Energy Sciences Program is currently
funded at approximately $223 million - - this constitutes roughly level
funding since FY 1996, prior to which the budget was approximately $370
million for several years. This nearly 40% cut from FY 95 to today, when
combined with the cumulative impact of inflation, has substantially
hampered the ability of the fusion program to fully utilize and update
existing facilities, to build new innovative experiments and to explore
promising new paths to practical fusion energy.

o There are two principal approaches to creating practical fusion energy:
magnetic fusion energy (MFE) and inertial fusion energy (IFE). To date, MFE
has been the primary subject of fusion energy research worldwide where the
US program is highly leveraged against >$1B annual program in fusion
research abroad. While inertial confinement fusion has been pursued
primarily in the US as a key component of DOE's scientific stockpile
stewardship program, it appears that IFE may also present a promising path
to practical fusion energy. Leveraging off the large investment in the
scientific stockpile stewardship program presents an opportunity to develop
the IFE approach.

o The MFE and IFE scientific communities are working together to define a
combined plan for fusion energy research which entails the following:

- An inclusive research portfolio which relies on scientific innovation to
develop the knowledge base needed to optimize concepts for practical fusion
applications;

- Common scientific and technical measures, or "Performance Metrics", for
judging scientific and technical progress through the application of
rigorous peer review by independent scientists.

o In order to successfully implement this exciting collaboration and
coordination between the communities, the fusion budget must be increased
to $300 million per year in the near term. Such a funding level will
strengthen the science base of the program, allow for greater utilization
of existing experimental facilities, ensure that the necessary knowledge
base for optimizing fusion applications is realized, and ensure continued
measurable and substantial progress towards the ultimate goal of practical
fusion energy.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
B. Draft Congressional Letter in Support of Fusion Energy
Research:
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Chairman Packard and Ranking Member Visclosky:

We are writing to thank you for your strong support of fusion energy
science research in the past and to request that your Subcommittee provide
the funding necessary to implement a new, broader program which is
responsive to direction from your subcommittee.

Fusion research is one of the best examples of a government program that
has a clearly defined and sorely needed end product - - a fundamentally new
source of energy - - and at the same time advances basic scientific
research. As an extra benefit, the inherently difficult nature of the
fusion challenge continues to produce important spinoffs in other
scientific fields, and provides important technological benefits to
society.

As you know, fusion energy science funding fell 40 percent between FY 1995
to FY 1997, from approximately $370 million to $225 million. Since that
time, the budget has remained essentially level, except for the inflation
that continues to erode the program's effective buying power.

Despite these declines, fusion researchers have made significant progress
towards the eventual realization of this essential energy source of the
future. Now, in response to substantial progress in fusion science as well
as to Congressional direction, the fusion community is working together to
develop a plan for reaching the goal of practical fusion energy while at
the same time maximizing the scientific and technological benefit to the
nation. This plan will be inclusive of all potentially viable fusion
concepts and will rely heavily on a thorough peer review process to select
the best combination of findings at each stage for further development. It
will also leverage for energy purposes the substantial investment in
inertial fusion made by DOE's defense programs and the substantial
investment made by other nations in magnetic fusion.

Implementing this broader fusion energy science program will require an
increase in the fusion budget to levels approaching, though not reaching,
those of several years ago. As a step in this direction, we ask that your
Subcommittee appropriate no less than $250 million for fusion energy
science research in FY 2000, plus the additional $10 million required for
the decommissioning of the TFTR facility. While funding at this level is
significantly below the program's $370 million of just four years ago, it
will allow the program to expand into new and innovative avenues of
research while also ensuring improved utilization of existing experimental
facilities.

Thank you again for your past support of this program and for your
attention to this request.

// ---------------------------------------------------------------------- //
// ---------------------------------------------------------------------- //

Please send comments/inquiries to

Ray Fonck fonck@engr.wisc.edu
Dept. of Engineering Physics 608-263-7799
University of Wisconsin-Madison
// ---------------------------------------------------------------------- //