3 December 2003

Plainsboro, New Jersey -- Masaaki Yamada and Hantao Ji, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), recently received the Kaul Prize for Excellence in Plasma Physics Research and Technology Development. The award recognizes Yamada and Ji "for the experimental investigation of driven magnetic reconnection in a laboratory plasma."

Magnetic reconnection is the breaking and topological rearrangement of magnetic field lines in a plasma -- a hot, ionized gas. It is one of the most fundamental processes of plasma physics and has important relevance to fusion research, as well as to the physics of the earth's magnetosphere and solar flares. Yamada and Ji conduct their research on the Magnetic Reconnection Experiment (MRX) at PPPL.

PPPL officials and staff honored the two during a ceremony and reception at the Laboratory on November 24. "Masaaki and Hantao, and their graduate students, have opened up a new era in laboratory astrophysics with the MRX experiment," said PPPL Director Rob Goldston.

Last year, Yamada and Ji received the American Physical Society's 2002 Award for Excellence in Plasma Physics Research for their work in magnetic reconnection.

Yamada, a PPPL Distinguished Research Fellow and an American Physical Society Fellow, is the Head of the MRX research program. He received a bachelor's degree and a master's degree from the University of Tokyo and a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Illinois, joining PPPL in 1973 as a postdoctoral fellow. He carried out many basic plasma physics experiments, as well as fusion experiments, before pioneering MRX in the early 1990's to explore the fundamental physics of magnetic reconnection. Yamada has been the doctoral thesis advisor for a dozen graduate students of Princeton University, the University of Tokyo, and Purdue University and has held invited professor positions at Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Switzerland, as well as at Kyoto University and the University of Tokyo in Japan. He is a resident of Princeton Township.

Ji, a Principal Research Physicist at PPPL, received a bachelor's degree in physics from Ehime University in Japan in 1985 and a doctor of science degree in physics from the University of Tokyo in 1990. He conducted plasma physics research at the National Institution for Fusion Sciences in Japan and at the University of Wisconsin-Madison before coming to PPPL. Since 1995, he has been conducting research on the MRX. Ji has carried out many laboratory studies of basic physics phenomena observed in space, astrophysical, and fusion plasmas. In addition to MRX, currently he is responsible for two other experimental projects on related subjects at PPPL. He won a Kanbayashi International Fellowship (1985-1986), an Iwatani Memorial Fellowship (1986-1990), and a Department of Energy Outstanding Mentor Award in 2002. Ji is a member of the American Physical Society, the American Geophysical Union, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Japan Society of Plasma Science and Nuclear Fusion Research. He is a resident of Plainsboro Township.

Princeton University awards the Kaul Prize to recognize a recent outstanding technical achievement in plasma physics or technology development by a full-time, regular employee of PPPL. It includes a cash award of $2,000 for each individual. Nominations for the award are submitted to the Prize Selection Committee, which includes the Princeton University Provost, the Chair of the Princeton University Research Board, the PPPL Director, PPPL Deputy Director, and PPPL Chief Scientist. This is the seventh time the prize has been given.

Former PPPL Director Ronald C. Davidson endowed the Kaul Prize by giving to Princeton University a portion of the gift he received as the 1993 recipient of the Award for Excellence in Science, Education, and Physics from the Kaul Foundation.

PPPL, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and managed by Princeton University, is a collaborative national center for science and innovation leading to an attractive fusion energy source. Fusion is the process that powers the sun and the stars. In the interior of stars, matter is converted into energy by the fusion, or joining, of the nuclei of light atoms to form heavier elements. At PPPL, physicists use a magnetic field to confine a hot ionized gas, or plasma, as the fuel for fusion energy production. Scientists hope eventually to use fusion energy for the generation of electricity.

For further information, please contact:

Anthony R. DeMeo
Head, Information Services
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
(609) 243-2755
ademeo@pppl.gov

Patricia Wieser
Information Services
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
(609) 243-2757
pwieser@pppl.gov

Downloadable print-quality photo of Drs. Yamada and Ji. Resolution is 300 dpi, print size is approximately 3.6 inches wide by 3.4 inches high, file type is jpeg, and file size is 1.0 MB. Photo by Elle Starkman, PPPL.