SJR83

A Joint Resolution commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory.

Whereas, The United States Atomic Energy Commission approved funding for the construction of a magnetic plasma device to study controlled fusion at Princeton University under the direction of Dr. Lyman Spitzer, Jr., in July 1951; and

Whereas, The research effort became part of Project Matterhorn, a classified project studying the hydrogen bomb during the Cold War between the United States and the former Soviet Union; and

Whereas, The B-65 stellarator, a fusion power device developed as part of the project, began operation in 1957 using a geometry now known as a tokamak; and

Whereas, Controlled thermonuclear research was declassified in 1958 and Princeton University shared its research with the world by exhibiting a working stellarator, B-2, in Geneva, Switzerland at the United Nations’ Second International Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy; and

Whereas, That same year, Project Matterhorn’s first linear device, L-1, began operation for the study of basic plasma physics; and

Whereas, Princeton University awarded its first doctoral degree in plasma physics in 1959; and

Whereas, Dr. Melvin B. Gottlieb succeeded Dr. Lyman Spitzer, Jr., as the head of Project Matterhorn and the project was renamed the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory in 1961; and

Whereas, The Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory has been a leader in magnetic confinement experiments using the tokamak approach; and

Whereas, This work culminated in the world-record performance of the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor, which operated from 1982 to 1997; and

Whereas, Beginning in 1993, the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor was the first in the world to use 50/50 mixtures of deuterium-tritium, yielding an unprecedented 10.7 million watts of fusion power; and

Whereas, The Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory remains a United States Department of Energy national laboratory managed by Princeton University; and

Whereas, The Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory is developing the Princeton Plasma Innovation Center to support new research in artificial intelligence, microelectronics, quantum sensors and devices, and other technologies to maintain United States’ leadership in key industries; and

Whereas, The Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory plans to repurpose the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor site as a Fusion Research and Technology Hub to develop fusion energy and plasma-based technologies; and

Whereas, Scientists and researchers at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, and its partner organizations, are making pivotal contributions to the state of science in the United States and the world, many of which have been recognized by the American Physical Society and others; and

Whereas, Such projects and recognition speak to the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory’s mission of developing the scientific knowledge and advanced engineering to enable fusion to power the United States and the world, to advance the science of nanoscale fabrication and sustainable manufacturing for the technologies of tomorrow, and to further the development of the scientific understanding of the plasma universe from laboratory to astrophysical scales; now, therefore,

Be It Resolved by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. The State of New Jersey commemorates the 75th anniversary of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory.

2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly or the Secretary of the Senate to the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, the American Physical Society, and the United States Library of Congress.

3. This joint resolution shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This resolution commemorates the 75th anniversary of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. In July 1951, the United States Atomic Energy Commission approved funding for the construction of a magnetic plasma device to study controlled fusion at Princeton University under the direction of Dr. Lyman Spitzer, Jr. The research effort became part of Project Matterhorn, a classified project studying the hydrogen bomb during the Cold War between the United States and the former Soviet Union.

The 1950s proved to be a period of incredible scientific growth in the world of plasma physics, due in large part to the achievements of the scientists at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. In 1959, Princeton University awarded its first doctoral degree in plasma physics. Two years later, Dr. Melvin B. Gottlieb succeeded Dr. Lyman Spitzer, Jr., as the head of Project Matterhorn and the project was renamed the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory.

Throughout the rest of the 20th century, the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory continued to be a leader in magnetic confinement experiments using the tokamak approach, culminating in the world-record performance of the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor, which operated from 1982 to 1997. Beginning in 1993, the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor was the first in the world to use 50/50 mixtures of deuterium-tritium, yielding an unprecedented 10.7 million watts of fusion power.

Today, the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory is developing the Princeton Plasma Innovation Center to support new research in artificial intelligence, microelectronics, quantum sensors and devices, and other technologies to maintain US leadership in key industries. The laboratory also plans to repurpose the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor site as a Fusion Research and Technology Hub to develop fusion energy and plasma-based technologies. In addition, scientists and researchers at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, and its partner organizations, are making pivotal contributions to the state of science in the US and the world, many of which have been recognized by the American Physical Society and others.

Such projects and recognition speak to the laboratory’s mission of developing the scientific knowledge and advanced engineering to enable fusion to power the US and the world, to advance the science of nanoscale fabrication and sustainable manufacturing for the technologies of tomorrow, and to further the development of the scientific understanding of the plasma universe from laboratory to astrophysical scales.