Dear Colleagues,

There are three news items covered in this brief newsletter.


Fusion community budget request from Congress
National labs volunteer to help university labs with safety
New acting director of IFS



FUSION COMMUNITY REQUEST:

The fusion leaders  (sometimes referred to as the gang of x) have written a
one page summary of our needs from Congress.  It is here as a Word document
and follows:




Fusion Community Budget Request FY2003

Fusion energy is one of only a very limited selection of environmentally
benign long-term energy options. The Fusion Energy Sciences program aims to
develop the scientific and technological basis for the nation to deploy
fusion power at the earliest possible date.

The President's FY2003 budget requests $257.3M for Fusion Energy Sciences.
The modest increase over FY2002 allows fuller scientific utilization of the
existing larger-scale research facilities, and start of construction of the
National Compact Stellarator Experiment. These and the other activities
included in the President's fusion budget are essential elements of moving
the fusion program forward in FY2003.

However a number of other high priorities are not being met by the
President's budget and are very important for the development of fusion
energy and its underlying science:

	Preparation for a Burning Plasma Experiment - Exploration of burning
plasmas is widely recognized as the next major step for fusion research.
This summer and fall decisions will be made with respect to the most
attractive approach for taking this step, and resources will be required in
FY2003 to begin preparations.
	Accelerated development of materials and technologies for fusion energy
 - Significant progress is being made in these areas, but our foreign
competitors are investing much more heavily, leaving the U.S. vulnerable to
being left behind.
	Increased scientific utilization of the smaller Innovative Confinement
Concept facilities distributed broadly across the nation - A number of
small innovative experiments have recently been constructed, and they need
to be exploited more fully both for their contributions to fusion science
and for their potential as attractive energy systems. Increased investment
in plasma diagnostics as well as in theory and computation for these
systems is also needed.
	Increased support for Inertial Fusion Energy research - While
dual-purpose high-average-power is funded under NNSA, we strongly support
the continuation of this important work.  In addition, work on the ion-beam
approach and on chamber technologies for IFE under the OFES is
funding-limited and could move forward much more quickly.
	Formation of one or more Centers of Excellence in Fusion Science, in
collaboration with the NSF - A recent NRC review of the fusion program
recommended the formation of Centers of Excellence increasing participation
of the broader scientific community in the advancement of fusion energy
science.
	Additional support for the scientific utilization of the larger
facilities and for construction of the National Compact Stellarator
Experiment - While the increased resources provided in the President's
budget will allow operation of C-MOD, DIII-D and NSTX for 21 run weeks in
FY2003, in fact 25 weeks per year is a more nearly optimal number.
Increased investment in detailed plasma diagnostics and theory and
computation are needed as well. The rate of construction of the Compact
Stellarator is below optimal; this facility could be completed in four
years rather than the budgeted five years.

The U.S. fusion research community strongly encourages Congress and the
Administration to allocate $335 million for FY03 as is authorized in
House-passed H.R. 4,. As the budget moves closer to this number, the impact
on scientific progress towards a practical fusion energy source would be
dramatic.





Please consider discussing this information with staffers when calling your
delegation members to set up appointments for Fusion Day.  Some funding
decisions need our input before Fusion Day.  This information should be
used on Fusion Day.


SAFETY HELP AVAILABLE:

Safety is an extremely important part of all plasma physics and controlled
fusion research and now university experiments have an opportunity to take
advantage of the safety expertise at the National Labs.  The following, by
Mike Roberts of OFES, tells you how:


EXPERIENCED SAFETY PEOPLE AVAILABLE TO HELP UNIVERSITY FUSION EXPERIMENTERS

Fusion probably connects most directly with the general public in two ways:
first, upon being asked about fusion, the question is probably 'when?',
second, if a safety problem or technical achievement were to make the news,
then that some one was hurt or some equipment damaged would probably be
much more understandable than any technical achievement.  Of course, an
accident also can be a direct negative effect on a fusion person or piece
of equipment as well as being a cost and schedule detraction from effective
fusion research. Consequently, it is worth everyone's while to ensure that
our experimental work is carried out in the most safe way possible. Many of
the major laboratory programs, both national labs and GA, have significant
safety programs and experienced people, both safety officers and senior
technical people with considerable safety experience. These institutions
are motivated to provide to, upon request by, university fusion
laboratories these skilled individuals who would come and review safety
situations, procedures, questions, improvements, etc. The Office of Fusion
Energy Sciences strongly supports this voluntary program in which the lab
personnel would provide such consultations at no cost to the university
program. The recommendations of these visitors are for the university
program and do not pass through a DOE filter. One of the most recent
recipients of this help is Prof. Mohamed Abdou, whose UCLA experimental
laboratory safety program was significantly enhanced following visits from
senior GA people over this past year. Other university principals have had
similar experiences with people from PPPL and other labs . Any one
interested should call either Rich Hawryluk, PPPL, or Ron Stambaugh, GA, to
get started. Rich or Ron would be able to suggest whether their
institutions or other national labs could be in the best position to help.


NEW ACTING DIRECTOR OF IFS:

Acting Director Named for the Institute for Fusion Studies (by Carolyn
Valentine)

Dr. James W. Van Dam has been named Acting Director of the Institute for
Fusion Studies at The University of Texas at Austin, effective March 3,
2002. Dr. Francois L. Waelbroeck will become the Assistant Director.

The Institute is a national center for research in theoretical plasma
physics and controlled thermonuclear fusion. Its research is diverse,
including such topics as plasma turbulence, transport theory, kinetic
theory, numerical simulation, stability theory and nonlinear plasma
dynamics. Much of this work is interdisciplinary, involving such
neighboring fields of research as space and astrophysics, fluid dynamics,
accelerators, statistical mechanics, and laser-plasma physics. Institute
scientists have collaborations with laboratories in the U.S. and abroad. In
particular, the Institute is the host for the U.S.-Japan fusion theory
exchange program. It also trains students and postdoctoral researchers.

Dr. Van Dam has specialized in researching the theoretical aspects of
plasma physics and magnetic fusion energy. He is well known for his work in

analyzing the effects of alpha particles on the stability of ignited
plasmas. He came to the University of Texas in 1980 when the Institute was
founded. He has served as the Assistant Director since 1986 and as the
Associate Director since 1991. He has been the organizer for a number of
workshops and international symposia, a visiting scientist at several
laboratories, a visiting professor in Japan, a journal editor, and a member
of various national committees and taskforces. He is a Fellow of the
American Physical Society.

Dr. Waelbroeck is a Research Scientist at the Institute. His research on
magnetic reconnection and the effects of sheared flows on plasma stability
is widely recognized. After receiving his Ph.D. at the University of Texas,
he held positions at the Ecole Polytechnique (Paris), Princeton Plasma
Physics Laboratory, and the University of Maryland, before returning to the
Institute in 1993.

The previous Director of the Institute, Dr. Richard D. Hazeltine, served
for more than ten years. He will return to full-time research and teaching
as a member of the Institute and a professor in the Physics Department. His
leadership, which exhibited a rare combination of academic scholarship and
administrative skill, greatly strengthened the Institute. Nationally and
internationally he has been an effective advocate for theoretical plasma
physics. He continues as the chair of the U.S. Department of Energy's
Fusion Energy Science Advisory Committee.

A search for a permanent Director is in progress.