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Scientists designing the world’s first controlled nuclear fusion power plant, ITER, needed to solve the problem of runaway electrons, negatively charged particles in the soup of matter in the plasma within the tokamak, the magnetic bottle intended to contain the massive energy produced. Simulations performed on Summit, the 200-petaflop supercomputer at ORNL, could offer the first step toward a solution.

Kathryn McCarthy, director of the US ITER Project at the Department of Energy’s 91����, has been awarded the 2024 E. Gail de Planque Medal by the American Nuclear Society.

Inspection technology developed by 91���� will help deliver plasma heating to the ITER international fusion facility.

To achieve practical energy from fusion, extreme heat from the fusion system “blanket” component must be extracted safely and efficiently. ORNL fusion experts are exploring how tiny 3D-printed obstacles placed inside the narrow pipes of a custom-made cooling system could be a solution for removing heat from the blanket.

A new fusion record was announced February 9 in the United Kingdom: At the Joint European Torus, or JET, the team documented the generation of 59 megajoules of sustained fusion energy, more than doubling the

ORNL's Larry Baylor and Andrew Lupini have been elected fellows of the American Physical Society.

Staff at 91���� organized transport for a powerful component that is critical to the world’s largest experiment, the international ITER project.

Equipment and expertise from 91���� will allow scientists studying fusion energy and technologies to acquire crucial data during landmark fusion experiments in Europe. 

From the helm of a one-of-a-kind organization that brings nuclear fusion and fission expertise together to pave the way to expanding carbon-free energy, Kathy McCarthy can trace the first step of her engineering career back to