Asked what needed to be done to ensure the continuity of the project, Bernard Bigot stressed the importance of preparing the best scientists and engineers for the operation of ITER. "We need to motivate young people to become the next generation of fusion experts by giving them the flavour of fusion," he advised. He shared the enjoyment he felt during weekly Skype conversations with the young fusion aficionados who contacted him.
The opening ceremony also provided the stage to award the 2018 European Prize for Innovation in Fusion (the "SOFT Innovation Prize"). Established by the European Commission in 2014, the prize is to reward outstanding researchers or industries who try to find new solutions to the huge challenges of fusion—solutions that can possibly have wider spin-off applications that can benefit society today.
The 2018 winners were: First Prize—Jens Reiser from Germany for his work on the development of a novel ductile tungsten material; Second Prize—Simon Kirk from the United Kingdom for his work on the development of a novel robot tool for cutting and welding using a small laser head; and Third Prize—Yican Wu from China for the development of a new CAD-based particle transport software for nuclear design and radiation safety calculations.
At the end of the opening ceremony, the ancient theatre returned to cultural performance function, entertaining conference participants with music by Italian composers performed by the Plectrum Orchestra of Taormina.
SOFT continues through 21 September. More at this address.