Yes, we can—Fusion Power Associates countdown to ignition

The Fusion Power Associates (FPA) Annual Meeting and Symposium, "Fusion Energy: Countdown to Ignition and Gain," was held on the 3-4 December in Livermore, California (US), in honour of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) fusion pioneers Richard F. Post and John H. Nuckolls.

At the meeting, the FPA Board of Directors presented them with FPA Special Awards for their "pioneering contributions to fusion energy development." Post and Nuckolls have been active fusion researchers since the 1950s and both have made seminal contributions to the fields of magnetic and inertial fusion, respectively. The meeting also hosted a 90th birthday celebration reception for Post. Families of both Post and Nuckolls took part.

At the symposium, Post and Nuckolls were asked to present their thoughts on fusion energy development to the audience.

Post said, "We have the basic scientific understanding, the computational horsepower, and the technology to take a new, broader look at the problem. And we certainly have the financial wherewithal. For example, we are spending $700 billion a year to import oil. One week of that rate of expenditure—$11 billion—is equal to the entire US magnetic fusion funding over its 56 plus years of existence. A four-tenths percent tax on that oil could pay for a fusion budget that is a factor of ten larger than the present budget."

Post and Nuckolls presentations are posted, along with other papers from the symposium, at http://fusionpower.org and click on Annual Meetings and Symposiums, or directly at: http://fire.pppl.gov.

A complete list of FPA Award winners is posted at http://fusionpower.org and click on Awards.