PPPL celebrates its 75th anniversary

Amid plates of cake and in the presence of coworkers and friends, staff and alumni gathered on Sept. 23 to celebrate a special birthday — the 75th anniversary of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), one of the DOE’s 17 national laboratories that together advance national priorities in science.

To help celebrate, a cohort of alumni returned to the campus for a series of commemorative events. The group visited the Facility for Laboratory Reconnection Experiments (FLARE), a new mid-scale device built to test hypotheses about the behavior of magnetic fields in plasma, and the Fusion Research and Technology Hub, a space that formerly housed the famed Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) and is now designed to advance the next generation of fusion experiments by incubating private fusion companies. Afterward, the alumni gathered in the cafeteria for a celebratory brunch and then joined the rest of the staff in PPPL’s auditorium for a special panel discussion on the history and future direction of the Laboratory.

“The Lab of today builds upon a historic foundation,” said Laura Berzak Hopkins, the panel moderator and PPPL deputy director for research and chief research officer, to a packed auditorium of 180 people. “We are truly building on the shoulders of giants.”

Berzak Hopkins stressed that while PPPL has an illustrious past, its present and future are also vibrant. Through a range of research efforts using plasma, the fourth state of matter, PPPL continues to bolster national capabilities. To achieve that goal, the Laboratory participates in a growing network of partnerships with organizations, including other national laboratories and universities, as well as private companies.

“The demand for PPPL’s capabilities is not only enduring but ever increasing,” Berzak Hopkins said. “We are entering our next chapter of impact, and it builds on this incredible history that so many people here are part of today and have been part of over many decades.”

The panel discussed PPPL’s notable capability to build experiments that run the gamut of size and impact. “One of our key strengths is that we can carry out work across different scales,” said Erik Gilson, head of discovery plasma science. That work includes large devices like FLARE, medium-sized facilities that handle liquid metal and smaller experiments like the Magnetorotational Instability Experiment, as well as a new type of fusion system incorporating permanent magnets. “By pursuing research at all these scales, we create a pipeline of continuous innovation,” Gilson said. “Our efforts lead to a cross-pollination of ideas and technologies, helping accelerate the overall mission.”

Another panelist, Emily Carter, senior strategic advisor, reminded the audience that PPPL continuously looks to the future and has created a long-term strategy to diversify its research portfolio. “The question is, what does PPPL’s future look like beyond fusion?” Carter said. She noted that current director Steven Cowley wanted to expand PPPL’s research capabilities into low-temperature plasmas, which are used by private industry for microchip and other materials fabrication. “Steve’s vision was for PPPL to apply its strengths to studying how best to use low-temperature plasmas for microelectronics fabrication and to create measuring devices, or diagnostics, to aid that process. And there is now a beautiful, robust effort in that area at PPPL.”

The panelists discussed some of the highlights of PPPL’s history that has helped bring the Laboratory to this moment. “I think one of them clearly was the operation of TFTR in the 1980s and 1990s,” said Robert Goldston, professor of astrophysical sciences at Princeton University and former PPPL director. “In that era, we figured out how the shape of the plasma temperature profile is determined and got important insights into plasma instabilities. As a visiting theoretical physicist said at the time, we got spectacular results, but more importantly, we got spectacular physics.”

Yufan Xu, a staff research scientist, spoke about how PPPL achieves big scientific results by relying on its highly skilled staff. “When I started at PPPL as a postdoctoral researcher, I saw that where the Lab shines is its ability to do projects that are bigger than one person or research group. Everyone has to work together.”

That staff includes not only scientists, but also technicians, administrators, safety experts, quality control teams, security staff and more — all coordinating their efforts to complete complex projects. “Looking back at past machines like TFTR and forward to machines like the National Spherical Torus Experiment-Upgrade, I can see the immense amount of teamwork the Laboratory has always been able to muster to get these important experiments built,” Xu said.

Xu noted that during a recent renovation of a laboratory space for a new liquid metal experiment, a technician was looking at an old beam and found that his grandfather, who had worked at PPPL decades earlier, had signed it. “I am happy to be part of an institution with an enduring history, that has long-term thinking and builds facilities that can produce results for years,” Xu said. “I look around and think that when I come back in 50 years, I’ll be able to reminisce with colleagues and friends, just like today. Happy birthday, PPPL!”

Toward the end, Cowley summed up how PPPL not only has played a foundational role in plasma physics history but also continues to have a significant impact. “PPPL has been at the heart of plasma physics for 75 years, and we’re still at the heart of it,” he said. Private fusion companies use PPPL computer codes to design their facilities; they use the predictive capabilities PPPL created; and they use the insights PPPL has gathered through operating TFTR and other machines. “The field still needs innovation. And that innovation can’t come through guesswork. It must be driven by the science and predictive tools that PPPL developed.”

Alumni share memories of plasma physics careers

Visiting alumni included Charles Bushnell, who joined PPPL in 1958 and worked in the coil group, the section that built magnets for devices, including the Princeton Large Torus (PLT) and TFTR. Bushnell later became assistant head of engineering. “I’m impressed to see the advances made by PPPL in plasma science, though I understand challenges remain on the engineering side,” he said.

Alumnus Thomas Kozub recalled his history with PPPL, which began when he was hired in 1977 to work in the diagnostics group building measuring devices for PLT. He then transitioned to building PLT neutral-beam plasma heating systems. Later, he led the maintenance and calibration group that handled tritium, the form of hydrogen used in TFTR experiments, and helped design the Lithium Tokamak Experiment and FLARE. “The Lab was founded in 1951, and I was born in 1952, so the course of PPPL kind of parallels my life,” Kozub said. “And it continues to be part of my life. In fact, I come in one day a week to help with a variety of tasks.”

Tom Ciezinger remembered the collegiality. “I started working at PPPL in 1980 and stayed here for 42 years,” he said. “I was a vacuum technician, and sometimes my group would have meetings off-site, and then get pizza and ice cream. We had a lot of camaraderie.”

“Going after incredibly complex, multidisciplinary challenges and delivering capabilities for the nation is why PPPL exists,” Berzak Hopkins said. “The science and engineering really are that hard and that important, and that’s what we’re here to deliver.”

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PPPL is mastering the art of using plasma — the fourth state of matter — to solve some of the world's toughest science and technology challenges. Nestled on Princeton University’s Forrestal Campus in Plainsboro, New Jersey, our research ignites innovation in a range of applications, including fusion energy, nanoscale fabrication, quantum materials and devices, and sustainability science. The University manages the Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science, which is the nation’s single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences. Feel the heat at https://energy.gov/science and http://www.pppl.gov.