Environment & Energy

…

The PSFC's genesis
In the early 1970s, a collaboration between MIT’s Francis Bitter Magnet Lab (FBML) and a group of researchers in various MIT departments led to the first magnetic confinement tokamak experiment housed on campus, called Alcator. At the time, it was the highest field magnetic confinement device in the world. Success of that program and a growing national interest in fusion energy provided the initial impetus for the formation of the Plasma Science and Fusion Center (then called the Plasma Fusion Center).

Officially founded in 1976, the PSFC became a home for the plasma physics and fusion research conducted across MIT, in the FBML, and at the Research Lab for Electronics. Ever since, the Center has attracted leading experts from MIT and around the world to teach, conduct science, collaborate, and study.

…