ITER Scientist Fellows are at the cutting edge

"When we want to do detailed studies for the planning of operations using established codes and approaches, we usually place contracts for which leading Member institutes compete," points out Alberto Loarte, head of the ITER Science Division. "With the Scientist Fellow Network we are aiming for something quite different: encouraging state-of-the-art development in simulation and theory for ITER through advanced calculations and cutting-edge research."

"The ITER Scientist Fellow program allows us to bring together world-renowned experts from different laboratories around areas of specific development for ITER. With time, we are seeing a very productive dynamic within the groups, as well as a certain amount of cross-fertilization between areas. As we move forward with the understanding of ITER plasmas, which is required to plan the experiments, the contributions of the Fellows are proving increasingly valuable."

And the results are increasingly visible in the fusion community. "After two or three years of build-up, depending on the group, we are now in production mode," says Alberto. "Output from the ITER Scientist Fellow program was featured at major conferences and specialized workshops in 2019, including invited presentations (e.g., at the American Physics Society Division of Plasma Physics Conference, the Workshop on Tritium Transport Modelling in Nuclear Fission and Fusion, etc.) and publications in high-impact journals in the field such as Nuclear Fusion, Physics of Plasmas, Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion, etc.). This brings recognition to the individual scientists as well as to their home labs." As a result of the quality and the increased visibility of the work carried out by the Fellows, the ITER Organization is seeing a rise in nominations.