Steven Holt: “I would like to particularly emphasize the importance of high-performance computing in the area of fusion energy…”

“I would like to particularly emphasize the importance of high-performance computing in the area of fusion energy science, an area where I have personal experience from my work at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. Fusion offers the promise of abundant, safe, environmentally attractive energy for the U.S. and the world. The advances in computing over the last decade have revolutionized fusion science at Princeton and elsewhere. Previously scientists made calculations without computers for simplified situations; now they can take into account the details of real experimental conditions. Previously scientists could only make crude estimates of how for example turbulence in fusion fuel could cool the plasma lower than the very high temperatures needed for fusion; now they can calculate this process in detail. As a result the agreement between experiment and theory has improved dramatically. A decade or so ago, theoretical estimates could easily differ from experimental measurements by factors of 10 to 100, giving rise to heated scientific debate. How the debate is just as scientific and just as heated, but the argument is about factors like 1.5 or 2--a dramatic difference. Furthermore, this scientific understanding has led to techniques to quell the turbulent mixing and allow the fusion fuel to get much hotter, producing more fusion energy High-performance computing together with advanced experimental techniques, has truly revolutionized fusion energy science.”