Technology of Controlled Nuclear Fusion (Report on the 2nd Topical Meeting, Richland, 1976)

The main purpose of this second topical meeting, which was organized by the American Nuclear Society and its Richland Section and co-sponsored by the US Energy Research and Development Administration and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), was to review and assess controlled nuclear fusion technological developments in the past two and a half years since the first topical meeting in San Diego in 1974. A total of 360 persons attended the second topical meeting of the ANS Controlled Nuclear Fusion Division, whose primary interest lies in the technology and engineering associated with fusion applications, mostly for power production. As regards attendance, the breakdown by organizational affiliation was as follows: US National laboratories 43%; industrial companies 33%; universities 10%; organisations outside the USA 6%; US government 4%; students 2% and utility companies 2%. At the first topical meeting in San Diego, where total attendance was somewhat higher, 27% of those attending were from industry and 20% from universities. The increase in interest by the private industrial sector in this second meeting is surely a healthy sign and presumably is a result of the increased design work that has taken place in the past couple of years.