Prager to lead DOE's Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory

Stewart Prager, director of the Madison Symmetric Torus experiment at the University of Wisconsin and an internationally recognized leader in the field of fusion energy research, has been named director of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), effective this fall. Prager, who also is the Dexter Professor of Physics at Wisconsin, will become the sixth director of the laboratory, which is funded by the DOE and managed by the University. His appointment as a professor of astrophysical sciences at Princeton is expected to be acted on in the fall. "We believe that there is no better person than Stewart Prager to lead the Plasma Physics Laboratory as it moves into the next phase in its distinguished history," said Princeton President Shirley M. Tilghman. "The need for safe, abundant and environmentally benign sources of energy has never been greater, and we are confident that under his leadership PPPL will continue to make exceptional contributions to the field of fusion energy." Provost Christopher Eisgruber added, "Stewart Prager is not only a superb scientist, but also a proven leader of the nation's fusion research community. All of us at Princeton are absolutely delighted that Dr. Prager has agreed to take the helm at the laboratory." Prager joined the Wisconsin faculty in 1977 after conducting research for two years with the Fusion Energy Group at the General Atomic Co. (now known as General Atomics) in San Diego.