CER News:
CER members host successful IEEE/NPSS 36th ICOPS and 23rd SOFE

17 June 2009

The IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society 36th International Conference on Plasma Science (ICOPS) and 23rd Symposium on Fusion Engineering (SOFE) were held at the Omni San Diego hotel from May 31-June 5, 2009. This is the first time that ICOPS and SOFE had joint technical and social programs. A "theme" of the conference was "sustainability"; recyclable and reusable items were used throughout the conference. The combined conference was chaired by Prof. Farhat Beg and Dr. Mark Tillack, both members of the Center for Energy Research.

The conference was a great success, with attendance by 700 delegates from 31 countries. In the opening session, Prof. Beg and Dr. Tillack made welcome remarks followed by brief presentations by Dr. Art Ellis, Vice Chancellor for Research at UC San Diego and Professor Frieder Seible, Dean of the Jacobs School of Engineering. They gave a brief overview of the involvement of UCSD in plasma physics and fusion energy related research.

Approximately 800 papers were presented. The technical program included joint "super plenary" speeches, ICOPS and SOFE plenary speeches, invited and contributed talks, and posters. The topics that attracted the highest number of abstracts in ICOPS were: High Energy Density Physics, Medical, Biological and Environmental Applications, Fast Z-Pinches and X-Ray Lasers, Nonequilibrium Plasma Applications and High Pressure and Thermal Plasma Processing. The most popular topics in SOFE included ITER and Experimental Devices, Diagnostics and Data Acquisition, Reactor Studies, Fusion Chamber Technologies, and Plasma Support Technologies.

In addition to the technical program, many opportunities for sightseeing and socializing were available to the attendees. These included a lavish welcome reception, a reception for IEEE members and women in science and engineering, a night at the Padres baseball game, and the traditional awards banquet. Dr. René Raffray, also of the MAE department and CER, was awarded the 2009 IEEE/NPSS Fusion Technology Award "For his internationally recognized expertise in fusion engineering and his outstanding contributions to fusion technology, especially in the area of high heat flux components for both magnetic and inertial fusion energy."

More details about the conference and technical program can be found at: http://cer.ucsd.edu/icopssofe09/.