December 17, 1996

John A Schmidt, currently head of the Advanced Projects Department at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), has been named Interim Director of the Laboratory, effective January 1, 1997, He succeeds Ronald C. Davidson, who has served as Director since 1991, and who will return to research and teaching on a full-time basis.

Schmidt will serve until a permanent director is chosen. A search committee headed by Princeton University Provost Jeremiah Ostriker and Professor of Physics William Happer are engaged in that process. Schmidt earned his Ph.D in 1969 from the University of Wisconsin. He has been at PPPL since that time, where he is known chiefly for his leadership of the design teams for several potential new fusion experiments, most recently the National Spherical Torus Experiment.

Ostriker said, "John is universally respected as a person and as a scientist. He and the laboratory will have the complete support of Princeton University as they go forward into the post-TFTR era." Schmidt said, "The challenge for PPPL management and staff will be to ensure that the dedicated and immensely talented people at the laboratory are effectively utilized to address the development of fusion energy. The need for fusion development is clearly more crucial now than at any time in the past."

Schmidt can be reached at: jschmidt@pppl.gov

For more information, contact: Stephen O. Dean