At this time, only Columbia University ID-holders and approved guests are invited to in-person talks. All others are invited to attend remotely.  Please contact [email protected] for the Zoom link.

---

Speaker: Mickey Wade, Oak Ridge National Lab

Title: ORNL’s Role in Enabling an Aggressive Path to Fusion Energy

Abstract: Heralded by a series of community reports, a new era in US fusion energy development has dawned, focused on delivering fusion electricity as soon as possible. Achieving net electricity is no small task requiring robust solutions to three major challenges: 1) creating/sustaining a fusion heat source; 2) deploying materials that can survive fusion’s extreme conditions; and 3) closing the fusion fuel cycle while simultaneously producing net electricity. ORNL is well positioned to play a key role in the development (and ultimately integration) of each of these areas. Through its role delivering US contributions for ITER and successfully deploying fusion technologies on devices worldwide, ORNL has gained valuable experience in designing and fabricating fusion-reactor-class components. This experience is reinforced by ORNL’s strong burning plasma physics program that has supported the ITER design in the areas of plasma fueling, disruption mitigation, power exhaust, particle control, RF heating, core-edge integration, and energetic particles. ORNL is a world leader in fusion materials and has begun construction of the Materials Plasma Exposure eXperiment (MPEX), a facility capable of assessing material behavior and plasma-facing-component performance in fusion-reactor-relevant conditions up to end-of-life levels of plasma fluences as well as previously neutron-irradiated samples. ORNL leads the US blanket research program and has recently completed assembly of a Helium Flow Loop to enable tests of cooling performance of advanced manufactured blanket components. These capabilities are supported and augmented by world-class capabilities in computation, theory & simulation, diagnostic development, model validation, and fusion system design, providing a strong foundation for developing an integrated design capability for optimization and/or evaluation of future fusion pilot plant designs. The envisioned role for ORNL in enabling an aggressive, yet highly collaborative, US fusion program in the next decade while simultaneously supporting the fusion aspirations of the private sector will be discussed.

Biography: Dr. Mickey R. Wade is the Director of the Fusion Energy Division at Oak Ridge National Lab. In this role, he leads a diverse team of scientists and engineers in developing scientific and technological solutions that offer the potential for timely deployment of fusion energy. This effort includes interfacing with private fusion companies, universities, and other national labs to coordinate and lead U.S. research efforts to address critical technical gaps. Prior to this, Dr. Wade served in various capacities at General Atomics, including as the Director of the DIII-D National Fusion Program. In this role, he led the development of a vibrant research program and reliable facility to support ~500 researchers from over 90 institutions from around the world. Throughout his career, Dr. Wade has served in variety of roles to advance U.S. interest in ITER including: a major role in the development of the original ITER Research Plan; serving on the ITER Management Advisory Committee; and playing a key role in securing congressional support for ITER. He also served as co-chair of the 2017-18 U.S. Magnetic Fusion Research Strategic Directions community workshops, which provided key input to the National Academies’ a A Strategic Plan for Burning Plasma Research and the impetus for the follow-on APS-DPP Community Planning Process and FESAC reports. In all of these reports, he played a key role in ideating and recommending strategic approaches for the U.S. program that served as a foundational basis for the reports’ recommendations. Dr. Wade is the author of over 30 first-author papers, a Fellow of the American Physical Society, and previously served on the Editorial Boards of Nuclear Fusion and Physics of Plasmas. He now serves as the Chair of the Science Committee on the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory Advisory Board and on the KSTAR and WEST International Advisory Committees.