FPN09-27

In Memoriam: Donald J. Grove

June 14, 2009

Don Grove, a pioneer of the U.S. fusion program, passed away on May 30 at the age of 89. Don joined the Project Matterhorn fusion project at Princeton in 1953, on loan from Westinghouse Corporation, and spent the rest of his career there. Project Matterhorn was part of the classified U.S. Project Sherwood fusion effort and was focused on the development of the Stellarator concept recently invented by Princeton University astrophysics professor Lyman Spitzer. He was a driving force for a series of stellarator and tokamak projects at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory during the 1960s and 1970s, including the Model C Stellarator and its conversion into the Princeton Large Toruse (PLT). He was the recipient of Fusion Power Associates 1989 Distinguished Career Award.

An obituary from the Trenton (NJ) Times is reproduced below:

Donald J. Grove Ph.D.
Donald J. Grove, Ph.D. PRINCETON - Donald J. Grove, Ph.D., passed away peacefully at his Princeton home of over 50 years on May 30, 2009. Dr. Grove was born on October 8, 1919, to the late Mary and Earle Grove of Pittsburgh, PA. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from the College of Wooster in 1941, and did graduate work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. During World War II, he served his country as a researcher in the laboratories of Westinghouse Electric Corporation in Pittsburgh, and was once secretly transported to Los Alamos, NM, to service state-of-the art diagnostic equipment for the Manhattan Project. After receiving his Ph.D. in physics from Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon) in 1953, Dr. Grove came to Princeton University "on loan" from Westinghouse for a temporary assignment that evolved into a 35-year career in Princeton. He was a member of a small team working for Lyman Spitzer, conducting the first studies on the practica! l aspects of fusion power. Dr. Grove became one of the senior physicists at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, and in 1982 was appointed project manager for the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor. In 1985 he was awarded the United States Department of Energy's Distinguished Associate Award in recognition of his leadership in the design, construction and operation of TFTR, and in the following year, received the American Nuclear Society's Outstanding Achievement Award. Shortly thereafter, he was promoted to deputy director for Technical Operations at the Plasma Physics Laboratory, where he led a team of over 200 scientists and supporting personnel. Don was predeceased by his loving wife of 44 years, Dane McVay Grove, and is survived by his sisters, Lois "Tooie" Sharkey and Marjorie Rogers of Pittsburgh. He is also survived by his daughter, Ellen Petrone and her husband, Tom, of Princeton; his son, D. James Grove and his wife, Alitha, of Franklinton, NC, and his son, Robert E.! Grove and wife, Pamela, of Pleasant on, CA, as well as grandchildren, Michael, Andy, Scott and Bryan Petrone, Elizabeth Robitaille, David Grove and Sarah Aslan, and eight great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his devoted caregivers, Monica Aust, Teresa Kennedy and Lill McCann. A Memorial Celebration of Don's life will be held at the Springdale Golf Club, 1895 Clubhouse Drive in Princeton, at 4 p.m. on Sunday, June 28, 2009. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be sent to "101:" (formerly the Princeton Regional Scholarship Foundation) in care of Princeton High School, 151 Moore St., Princeton, NJ 08540.