Second in a series of in-depth profiles on federal laboratories located in the Northeast Region, which includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory is situated on 88 acres of Princeton University’s James Forrestal Campus. A scientist works on a component used in PPPL’s National Compact Stellarator Experiment. This project will determine the attractiveness of the compact stellarator as the basis for a fusion power reactor.

The Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) is a collaborative national center for plasma and fusion science. Its primary mission is to develop scientific understanding and key innovations that will lead to an attractive fusion energy source. Associated missions include conducting world-class research along the broad frontier of plasma science and technology, and providing the highest quality of scientific education. Princeton University manages PPPL under contract with the Department of Energy. The laboratory is situated on 88 acres of Princeton University’s James Forrestal Campus, about four miles northeast of the main campus.

Through its efforts to build and operate magnetic fusion devices, PPPL has gained extensive capabilities in a host of disciplines, including advanced computational simulations, vacuum technology, mechanics, materials science, electronics, computer technology, and high-voltage power systems. In addition, PPPL scientists and engineers are applying knowledge gained in fusion research to other theoretical and experimental areas, including the development of plasma thrusters and the propagation of intense beams of ions. PPPL’s graduate education and science education programs provide educational opportunities for students and teachers from elementary school through postgraduate studies.

Magnetic fusion research at Princeton began in 1951 under the code name Project Matterhorn. Lyman Spitzer, Jr., professor of Astronomy at Princeton University, had been involved for many years in the study of very hot rarefied gases in interstellar space. Inspired by the fascinating but exaggerated claims of fusion researchers in Argentina, Professor Spitzer conceived of a plasma being confined in a figure-eight-shaped tube by an externally generated magnetic field. He called his concept “the stellarator” and took this design before the Atomic Energy Commission in Washington, D.C. As a result of this meeting and a review of the invention by designated scientists throughout the U.S., the stellarator proposal was funded and Princeton University’s controlled fusion effort was born. In 1958, magnetic fusion research was declassified, allowing all nations to share their results openly. The name of the project was changed to the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory in 1961.

PPPL has a highly skilled workforce and extensive capabilities for the experimental and theoretical study of fusion and non-fusion plasmas as well as for the integrated design, fabrication, and operation of experimental plasma facilities of all types. Management by Princeton University provides the institutional framework for a broad laboratory-based program of education in plasma physics and related science and technology. Core competencies at PPPL include plasma science and technology, engineering, and education.

PPPL researchers are working on a number of research and development projects, including an advanced fusion device—the National Spherical Torus Experiment. In addition, laboratory scientists are collaborating with researchers on fusion science and technology at other facilities, both domestic and foreign. The staff at PPPL applies knowledge gained in fusion research to a number of theoretical and experimental areas, including materials science, solar physics, chemistry, and manufacturing.

Other Facts about PPPL:

• Number of employees: 416
• PPPL scientists have received prestigious scientific and engineering awards, including the Nobel Prize, American Physical Society Award in Plasma Physics, E.O. Lawrence Award, James Clerk Maxwell Prize, R&D 100 Award, and the New Jersey Society of Professional Engineers Award.