FPN11-59

FESAC Materials Panel Seeks Input

November 4, 2011

In response to a charge from the DOE Office of Science to assess "what areas of materials sciences and technology provide compelling opportunities for US researchers in the near term and in the ITER era", a FESAC subcommittee consisting of 14 scientists is evaluating research needs to bridge current knowledge gaps in order to establish the scientific basis for a Demonstration power plant. The subcommittee evaluation is scheduled to be completed by January 31, 2012.

Research community input is solicited on key scientific challenges that need to be resolved, particularly in the following topical areas: Plasma-materials interactions, nuclear degradation of materials and structures, and fusion power conversion and tritium fuel cycle technologies. The contributions should focus on the scientific issue(s) to be resolved, rather than technical specifications of facility(ies) that might be important for resolving current engineering science barriers.

Short white papers or suggested scientific questions or issues to be considered by the subcommittee can be submitted to the FESAC materials sciences web site (http://aries.ucsd.edu/fesac_mat/) by sending the contribution to Farrokh Najmabadi (fnajmabadi@ucsd.edu). Questions regarding the scope of issues to be evaluated can be submitted to the subcommittee chair, Steve Zinkle (zinklesj@ornl.gov).