Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory for plasma physics and nuclear fusion science. Its primary mission is research into and development of fusion as an energy source. It is known for the development of the stellarator and tokamak designs, along with numerous fundamental advances in plasma physics and the exploration of many other plasma confinement concepts.
Harold Paul Furth was an Austrian-American physicist who was a pioneer in leading the American efforts to harness thermonuclear fusion for the generation of electricity. He died of a heart ailment on 21 February 2002.
The Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) was an experimental tokamak built at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) circa 1980 and entering service in 1982. TFTR was designed with the explicit goal of reaching scientific breakeven, the point where the heat being released from the fusion reactions in the plasma is equal or greater than the heating being supplied to the plasma by external devices to warm it up.
Michael James Pappas is an American politician and former one term Republican congressman from New Jersey, serving from 1997 to 1999. He is currently the Township Administrator in Bridgewater, New Jersey. He was an unsuccessful candidate for State Senator in New Jersey's 16th legislative district in the 2021 and 2023 elections.
The National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) is a magnetic fusion device based on the spherical tokamak concept. It was constructed by the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) in collaboration with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Columbia University, and the University of Washington at Seattle. It entered service in 1999. In 2012 it was shut down as part of an upgrade program and became NSTX-U, for Upgrade.
Denise Coyle is an American Republican Party politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from January 2008 to January 2012, where she represented the 16th Legislative District.
New Jersey's 16th legislative district is one of 40 in the New Jersey Legislature. The district includes the Hunterdon County municipalities of Clinton Town, Clinton Township, Flemington Borough, High Bridge, Lebanon, Raritan Township, and Readington Township; the Mercer County municipality of Princeton; the Middlesex County municipality of South Brunswick Township; and the Somerset County municipalities of Branchburg Township, Hillsborough Township, Millstone Borough, Montgomery Township, Somerville Borough and Rocky Hill Borough.
Ronald Crosby Davidson was a Canadian physicist, professor, and scientific administrator who worked in the United States. He served as the first director of the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center from 1978 to 1988, and as director of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory from 1991 to 1996. He had been Professor of Astrophysical Sciences at Princeton University since 1991.
Shavonda E. Sumter is an American Democratic Party politician who has represented the 35th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly since taking office in January 2012.
Donna M. Simon is an American Republican Party politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly, representing the 16th legislative district from January 30, 2012, until January 12, 2016. Prior to her Assembly career, she served on the Readington Township Committee.
Sir Steven Charles Cowley is a British theoretical physicist and international authority on nuclear fusion and astrophysical plasmas. He has served as director of the United States Department of Energy (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) since 1 July 2018. Previously he served as president of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, since October 2016. and head of the EURATOM / CCFE Fusion Association and chief executive officer of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA).
Roy Freiman is an American Democratic Party politician who has represented the 16th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly since 2018, replacing Jack Ciattarelli, who did not seek re-election to his seat to run unsuccessfully for Governor of New Jersey in the 2017 primaries.
Sadaf F. Jaffer is an American elected official who has represented the 16th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly since taking office on January 11, 2022. She is a postdoctoral research associate at the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies.
Víctor Iván Vargas Blanco is Costa Rican plasma and nuclear fusion physicist. He is renowned for his work in plasma physics and nuclear fusion. Currently, as a professor and tenured researcher at the Costa Rica Institute of Technology, he heads the Plasma Laboratory for Fusion Energy and Applications that he founded in 2011.
The 2021 New Jersey General Assembly election was held on November 2, 2021. New Jersey voters elected two assembly members in all of the state's legislative districts for a two-year term to the New Jersey General Assembly.
The 2017 New Jersey General Assembly elections were held on November 7, 2017, to elect members to all 80 seats of the New Jersey General Assembly. Prior to the elections, Democrats held a 52–28 majority in the lower house. Overall, the Democrats increased their majority by 2 to a super-majority at 54–26, due to holding all their seats as well as picking up open seats in District 2 and District 16. This tied Democrats for their largest majority since 1979.
All 80 seats in the General Assembly were up for election this year. In each Legislative district, there are two people elected; the top two winners in the general election are the ones sent to the Assembly. Typically, the two members of each party run as a team in each election. After the previous election, Democrats captured 48 seats while the Republicans won 32 seats. At the time of the general election, there were two vacancies: One in the 5th District resulting from Democrat Angel Fuentes's resignation on June 30, 2015, and one in the 24th District resulting from Republican Alison Littell McHose's resignation on October 17, 2015.
Robert Anderson Ellis Jr. was an American physicist and head of experimental projects at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory.
Rajesh Maingi is a physicist known for his expertise in the physics of plasma edges and program leadership in the field of fusion energy. He is currently the head of Tokamak Experimental Sciences at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL). He is a Fellow of both the American Physical Society and the American Nuclear Society and has chaired or co-chaired numerous national and international conferences.
Mitchelle Drulis is an American Democratic Party politician serving as a member of the New Jersey General Assembly for the 16th legislative district, having taken office on January 9, 2024.
