26 July 2001

Plainsboro, New Jersey -- High school physics teachers from as far away as Quebec and California, and as near as Kendall Park, New Jersey, were the first group of secondary school educators to conduct research on the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL). The teachers were participants in PPPL's Plasma Camp (officially called the Plasma Science and Fusion Energy Institute), an intensive two-week summer program of lectures, lab work, and curriculum design that began July 16.

This was the fourth summer for the institute, which was created to help high school physics teachers develop curricular materials for introductory physics teaching, making the subject of plasma (a hot, ionized gas) and fusion accessible to high school pupils. Twelve teachers were enrolled this year. Five of the teachers worked alongside PPPL scientists, monitoring results and drawing conclusions from data obtained from NSTX.

"We used a national collaborative fusion experiment as a teaching tool for five of the returning teachers. The educators' experiments piggybacked onto some of those scheduled for NSTX . The teachers attended NSTX meetings, collected data, and evaluated experimental results at computer terminals in the machine's control room," said Andrew Post-Zwicker, the PPPL Science Education Lead Scientist who designed and led Plasma Camp. "They observed real, cutting-edge research while conducting their own."

Assignments for veterans and first-time Plasma Camp participants included building plasma sources and developing plasma-related curricula. "The teachers are taking the plasma sources and their knowledge back to their students, hopefully inspiring them about science, in general, and plasmas, in particular," said Post-Zwicker, a Lawrenceville resident.

Nicholas Guilbert, a physics teacher at the Peddie School in Hightstown, and Sophia Gershman, who teaches physics at Watchung Hills High School in Warren, New Jersey, assisted Post-Zwicker with the institute. Gershman, a former participant, led teachers in institute assignments and Guilbert, who has been involved in shaping the program since its inception, was responsible for planning the agenda, speakers, and overall curricula for Plasma Camp.

The Plasma Camp teachers are listed below, along with their hometowns and where they teach.

The DOE's Office of Fusion Energy Sciences funds Plasma Camp. PPPL, funded by the DOE and managed by Princeton University, is a collaborative national center for science and innovation leading to an attractive fusion energy source. The Laboratory is on Princeton's James Forrestal Campus, off U.S. Route 1 in Plainsboro, New Jersey.

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