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* 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
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* News and Information
| Dec. 29, 2000
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TABLE OF CONTENTS:

1. UFA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ELECTIONS AND MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL

2. OFES STAFF RECRUITMENT NOTICE

3. SYSTEMS EXPERTS LIST RELEASED

4. WORKSHOP ON SCIENCE OF BURNING PLASMAS HELD

5. FESAC MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT

6. NEW UFA OFFICERS NAMED; CHANGING OF THE GUARD ...

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1. UFA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ELECTIONS AND MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL
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Members of the UFA and most fusion community members based in academic institutions have recently been sent a solicitation for renewal of membership and casting of ballots for new members of the Executive Committee. We urge all present and prospective members to return their ballots as soon as possible.

If you did not get a mailing from us, please feel free to contact the Secretary/Treasurer, Steve Knowlton, at knowlton@physics.auburn.edu or contact the organization through the on-line membership application at http://plasma.ep.wisc.edu/UFA/Organization/Sign_up.html

In addition, please encourage your colleagues to join the UFA and cast their ballots for our community leadership.

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2. OFES TO RECRUIT NEW PROGRAM MANAGERS STAFF
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The U. S. Department of Energy Office of Fusion Energy Sciences expects to post at least five job announcements over the next year for program managers. The availability of new positions is anticipated due to planned retirements of existing staff. Reproduced below is a letter from John Willis and Michael Roberts of OFES. It describes the opportunities which are expected, and we urge all community members to help OFES fill these important positions:

Dear Colleague,

We are writing to obtain your assistance in replacing scientific and engineering staff in the Office of Fusion Energy Sciences as current staff retire or leave the government. Would you please distribute this message to people in your institution or to members of your organization, as appropriate, who might be interested in joining our staff or who might know individuals who would themselves be interested?

The rapid growth of the fusion program in the mid-70's brought with it an increase in staff in our office whose members are now, almost in unison, reaching retirement age. This poses a problem, but also presents an opportunity to engage a new generation in the process of managing the fusion energy research program.

Research program managers, both in science, facility operations and technology areas, are expected to stay current on a wide variety of fusion and plasma science topics, experimental facility operations topics, and enabling technologies and materials science topics, respectively. They do this through visits with scientific investigators at labs and universities across the country, through attendance at major meetings and workshops, through conduct of program and project reviews, and through analysis of research proposals and publications. There are frequent opportunities for attending technical seminars and meeting directly with scientists and engineers at our Germantown, Maryland headquarters as well as interacting with counterparts representing comparable efforts abroad.

Program managers will generally have a specific responsibility for one or more sub-elements of the fusion program -- for example the research program on a major facility, diagnostic development, general plasma physics, facility operation, or materials science. They are expected to manage and assess the resource requirements in their areas of responsibility, and support the requests for funding in discussions with upper management.

Technical competency in fusion and plasma science, in enabling technology, or in supporting engineering is necessary, but communications skills, interpersonal capabilities, and common sense are absolutely paramount. There is an opportunity to do much good in support of science and fusion and the betterment of mankind if one is not concerned about who gets the credit. There is also an opportunity to do considerable harm; so we will look closely at a candidate's prospects for managing competitive research solicitations in a fair and impartial manner.

We expect to be sending out at least five actual job announcements over the next year. Salaries will range from $60k to $110k depending upon experience. The Washington DC area has a favorable climate and presents many attractive opportunities for both cultural and recreational activities with a broadly diverse population. If you would be interested in such a position, or if you know of someone who might be interested, we urge you or the interested person to contact us (John for research and Mike for facilities operation and enabling technology) and we will send you a copy of the position announcements as they become available. In addition, either of us, or any of our staff, would be pleased to answer any questions about life in the fast lane. Please note that US citizenship is a requirement for these positions.

Thank you,

John Willis, Director, Research Division, Office of Fusion Energy Sciences, Office of Science, e-mail: John.Willis@Science.doe.gov

Michael Roberts, Director, Facilities and Enabling Technologies Division and Director, International Activities, Office of Fusion Energy Sciences, Office of Science, e-mail: Michael.Roberts@Science.doe.gov

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3. SYSTEMS EXPERTS LIST MADE AVAILABLE TO FUSION COMMUNITY
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The Fusion Facilities Operations Committee (FFOC) (a subcommittee of the Fusion Facilities Coordinating Committee (FFCC)) has developed a list of system experts (primarily from DIII-D, CMOD and NSTX).

This provides a list of technical references at the larger fusion laboratories who may be available for advice to the university research community. It can provide access to technical expertise not readily available at your local institution.

The list is posted at http://d3dnff.gat.com/FusionFacilityExperts

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4. WORKSHOP ON SCIENCE OF BURNING PLASMAS HELD
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The UFA-sponsored Workshop on Burning Plasma Science was held 11-13 December 2000, in Austin, TX, to provide a forum for in-depth community discussion of the critical scientific issues connected with burning plasmas. Attendance was roughly 90 registered participants.

A mix of plenary and breakout sessions were used, with breakout sessions held in five topic areas:
(1) Energetic Alpha-Particle Physics
(2) Self-Heating, Transport, and Confinement at Reactor Scale
(3) Macrostability in a Self-Heated Burning Plasma
(4) Boundary Science
(5) Relation of Burning Plasma Science to Other Fields.

The emphasis of the discussions was the formulation of responses to questions on scientific issues presented by considerations of a burning plasma study. For details, please see the 11/27/00 UFA e-News or the Workshop web site at http://w3fusion.ph.utexas.edu/bpsworkshop

The organizers and participants of each topical area are presently preparing summary reports of their findings, while the conference organizers are preparing an overall summary of the workshop activities and findings. These summaries will be posted on the UFA and Workshop web sites as soon as they are finalized. They will be reported in an UFA e-News in the near future (i.e., after people return from the holidays!).

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5. NEXT FESAC MEETING SCHEDULED FOR FEB 27-28, 2001
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The next Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee (FESAC) meeting is scheduled for February 27-28, 2001, at the Hilton in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The meeting will start at 9:00 a.m. on February 27 and adjourn around 12:30 p.m. on February 28.

The meeting agenda will be posted on the OFES web site at http://wwwofe.er.doe.gov/ when it becomes available.

A block of rooms has been set aside for February 26-27 at Hilton for those wishing to attend the meeting. The rooms are reserved at a Government rate of $119 plus tax. The Hilton is located on 620 Perry Parkway, Gaithersburg. Make your own reservations by calling (301) 977-8900 or 1-800-HILTONS and mentioning DOE/FESAC, before January 26, 2001. Check with the hotel for the availability of shuttle service from the airport.

FESAC is presently addressing three charges: one on the Theory program, one on Burning Plasmas, and a final one on reaction to the recent NRC Report on Assessment of Fusion Science (see the 11/02/00 UFA e-News or the Fall/Winter 2000 UFA Newsletter - both on the UFA web site). Details of these charges and FESAC actions on them are available at the DOE/OFES web site.

If you would like to be included on the list of persons wishing to make comments during the scheduled Public Comments portion of the agenda, please contact Al Opdenaker (301-903-4927) or e-mail (albert.opdenaker@science.doe.gov). For questions or other information regarding FESAC, please contact Al Opdenaker.

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6. NEW UFA OFFICERS INSTALLED; CHANGING OF THE GUARD ...
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The UFA Executive Committee met at its annual meeting on Oct. 22, 2000 in Quebec City, during the APS/DPP meeting. At this meeting, new officers were elected for a 2-year term beginning Jan. 1, 2001. Adil Hassam of the University of Maryland will be the Vice-President of the UFA, while Steve Knowlton of Auburn University will serve as Secretary/Treasurer. The present Vice-President, Tom Jarboe of the University of Washington, will take over the office of President also on Jan. 1, 2001. As president, Tom will be the reporter of the UFA e-News from now on.

As the outgoing president, I wish to take this opportunity of my final e-NEWS to thank all members of the university fusion community who have helped in UFA activities over the past two years. A special note of thanks is due to the members of the Executive Committee, who have often put considerable behind-the-scenes energy into UFA matters. Roger Bengston of the University of Texas is ending his extended tenure as the organization's Secretary/Treasurer, and all of us would like to especially thank him for keeping the business affairs of the UFA in order and arranging our annual meetings.

Finally, I'd like to congratulate our new officers on their election, and wish them the best as they lead the organization during the next two years!

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