Guest Editorial Special Issue on Symposium on Fusion Engineering

Abstract

This special issue is the first one published in the IEEE Transactions of Plasma Science covering the 26th Symposium on Fusion Engineering (SOFE 2015) chaired by Jean Paul Allain and Mark Tillack. SOFE 2015 was colocated with the 20th Pulsed Power Conference in Austin, TX, USA, from May 31 to June 4, 2015. The Symposium included an exciting collection of papers on the technological, engineering, and scientific advances in the field. Notable new technical areas, including fusion materials, concepts for a Fusion Nuclear Science Facility, and design and analysis tools for stellerator DEMO devices (a timely topic with W7-X at Max Planck Insitut in Greifswald coming online in 2015, and innovative divertor concepts) were emphasized, unlike previous SOFE meetings. Other topics in the Symposium covered engineering and scientific advances in both inertial confinement and magnetic confinement fusion, with attendees from major fusion energy research centers worldwide. Fusion engineering continues to be an important area to the fusion community, given the continued engineering and technology advances and challenges in magnetic and inertial thermonuclear fusion. The objective of this special issue is to bring the most up-to-date developments reported at the SOFE 2015 to the readership of the IEEE Transactions of Plasma Science. In addition to the above-listed new topics, SOFE 2015 highlighted continued interest in the areas of fusion engineering, including ITER and experimental fusion devices including alternate fusion confinement devices, new device design and reactor studies, divertors and plasma-material interactions, chambers, vacuum vessels related to fusion device technology, plasma diagnostics, data acquisition and plasma control systems, safety and environmental engineering, plasma fueling, pumping and tritium handling systems, IFE drivers, targets, and related technologies; fusion device power systems; magnet engineering and electromagnetics; and electromechanics. SOFE 2015 has an unprecedented participation from our Asian colleagues, as nuclear fusion programs are broadening, particularly the technological and engineering efforts across many major devices and facilities. This is one of the reasons for our decision to proudly hold the next SOFE 2017 in Shanghai, China, led by General Chair Dr. Hutch Neilson and General Co-Chair Dr. Jiangang Li.