As part of Fusion Energy Week, we opened our doors to the public - hosting 341 people across five tours! Visitors learned the basics of fusion, participated in hands-on demonstrations, and saw the science and technology enabling us to close critical gaps.
We enjoyed connecting with members of the San Diego community in-person and talking fusion with the broader technical community and interested public during our virtual tours. We had great conversations about all the science and technology advances being made at the facility, highlighting how our work is driving progress toward commercial fusion.
Thank you to everyone who joined our tours for a behind-the-scenes look at our facility - we're already looking forward to next year's tours and all the newest capabilities, science, and technology we'll be able to share then ✨
#FusionEnergyWeek #fusionenergy #fusion #facilitytour #virtualtour
How can we leverage AI to improve plasma performance for fusion?
Kevin Gill, a graduate student in the UW-Madison Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics program, and UW scientist Semin Joung recently led an experiment to test a new answer to this question. The team included researchers from PPPL, Princeton University, and SLAC. They developed a tool that uses fast 2D turbulence data from DIII-D diagnostics to control 3D magnetic field coil currents to improve plasma stability and performance. The deep learning models used for this control informs the plasma control system through hardware acceleration to steer the plasma away from instabilities in the plasma edge.
Controlling these edge localized mode instabilities, which have the potential to release large bursts of energy and heat capable of damaging the interior walls in future commercial devices, is a key remaining challenge on the path to commercial fusion, and work like Kevin’s is closing this gap to enable a future powered by fusion.
#fusionenergy #studentresearch #AI #gradstudent #tokamak
As part of Fusion Energy Week, Rick Lee and Clay Gray of our Operations team joined @CBS8 for a celebration of #electricity, #magnetism, and #fusion! They paired approachable explanations of plasma and fusion devices with engaging physics demonstrations to illustrate the key forces and phenomena harnessed in fusion.
Watch at the #linkinbio
#FusionEnergyWeek2026 #fusionenergy #plasma #tokamak #publicoutreach
Happy Fusion Energy Week!
DIII-D is excited to open our doors this week and celebrate all the essential progress toward commercial fusion being made here. From material science evaluations and plasma performance improvements to AI incorporation, measurement innovations, and more, our scientists and engineers are solving key challenges across fusion science and technology areas.
Interested in learning more? Sign up for a virtual tour on Wednesday AM or Thursday PM at the #linkinbio.
#fusionenergyweek2026 #fusionenergyweek #fusion #tour
Why do some approaches for running a tokamak produce only small instabilities (known as edge-localized modes in the field), while others produce large bursts of energy with the power to damage plasma-facing components inside a fusion device?
This question continues to be at the core of extensive fusion science research, aiming to optimize plasma performance without the risk of machine damage. Nami Li and Xueqiao Xu from @livermore_lab recently published an article addressing this question. Their team combined experimental data from DIII-D with physics modeling to identify the role of the density of particles at the edge of the plasma in limiting the development of damaging bursts. High density in the plasma edge produced pressure spikes that caused small instabilities to burst, rather than grow into larger, high-energy edge-localized modes.
This understanding will help fusion scientists design advanced plasma scenarios and refine plasma control strategies for future steady-state commercial devices, enabling operation that suppresses potentially damaging energy bursts in the plasma.
Learn more at the #linkinbio. https://science.osti.gov/fes/Highlights/2026/2a
#fusionenergy #fusion #instability #plasma #energy #simulation #modeling #fusioncommercialization #tokamak
DIII-D was honored to host @RepMikeLevin at our facility. Throughout the visit, we showcased many of the ways in which DIII-D is executing on the U.S. Fusion Roadmap established by @Energy , pioneering science and technology advances along the path to commercial fusion.
We discussed the breadth of our cutting-edge research program addressing key commercial fusion challenges and how DIII-D’s flexibility as a technology test bed is enabling the program to continuously evolve to meet the most pressing needs of the fusion community. We also showcased how the collaborations across private industry, government facilities, and academic institutions occurring within the DIII-D program are producing substantial progress toward fusion energy. Our ongoing efforts to build the fusion workforce of the future through hands-on experience with the only operating magnetic fusion device of this scale in the U.S. were also highlighted.
Thank you to Congressman Levin for taking the time to visit. We look forward to continuing to work with your office and the Fusion Caucus as we provide essential support to close key fusion science and technology gaps for commercialization.
#fusionenergy #tokamak #publicprivatepartnership #fusioncaucus #science #technology #fusionroadmap #DOE
Advancing fusion science and technology at DIII-D takes more than the tokamak! Our facility includes several laboratories where our scientists and engineers develop materials, technologies, and diagnostics that drive our cutting-edge work.
In our Divertor Materials Evaluation System (DiMES) laboratory, scientists prepare samples to test proposed materials for future commercial fusion devices against our reactor-relevant plasma environment. In the last two years, over 61 novel plasma-facing materials have been evaluated by exposing almost 200 samples to DIII-D plasmas, including first assessments of tungsten and silicon carbide fiber composites, multi-principle element alloys, pebble rods, previously irradiated materials, and liquid lithium in a unique 3D printed holder. DIII-D also routinely tests advanced tungsten alloys, ultra-high temperature ceramics, tungsten and silicon carbide coatings, additively manufactured materials and others developed by private industry, national laboratory, and academic participants.
This work provides essential support to the fusion industry, informing device designs by identifying materials able to withstand the extreme environment without negatively impacting plasma performance during fusion reactions. Stay tuned to learn more about the upcoming materials research happening later this spring!
Interested in learning more about past DIII-D DiMES experiments? Learn more at the #linkinbio.
#WorldLaboratoryDay #fusion #fusionenergy #DiMES #materialscience #plasma #additivemanufacturing #tungsten #siliconcarbide #SiC #ceramics #liquidmetal #alloys #publicprivatepartnership
DIII-D was honored to host U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright (@secretarywright ), Under Secretary for Science Darío Gil, and Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) Director Conner Prochaska at our facility. The team showed how DIII-D is closing key gaps in the U.S. Fusion Roadmap, providing a test bed for evaluating and optimizing critical fusion technologies and approaches with high-performance fusion plasmas.
We presented key advances the facility is making in fusion materials, heating technologies, and diagnostics, as well as work testing new techniques to manage hot plasma exhaust. We also had engaging discussions on the DIII-D Digital Twin and other high-performance computing capabilities related to the Genesis Mission and AI integration into fusion applications. In addition to our technical capabilities, the lynchpin role of the facility in preparing for the future of fusion commercialization by developing the fusion workforce was also a major highlight.
We look forward to continuing our mission to serve as an essential U.S. Department of @Energy (DOE) user facility working with the private and public sectors to address science and technology gaps on the path to commercial fusion.
#FusionEnergy #DOE #GenesisMission
Exciting news from DIII-D: Zapdos, the first of two gyrotrons from @KyotoFusioneer capable of producing microwaves at three frequencies, is installed!
Installation has involved coordinated work between experts from Kyoto Fusioneering and the DIII-D electron cyclotron heating (ECH) team. This joint effort has been characterized by superb engineering and excellent project execution, with Zapdos coming online at an impressive pace.
This 1-MW gyrotron is part of a larger expansion of the microwave heating system, which will expand the science and technology investigations possible at DIII-D. Once the improved system is fully operational, DIII-D will launch the most ECH power into fusion plasmas of any active facility, supporting our mission to create commercially relevant plasmas that accelerate progress along the DOE Roadmap leading to fusion energy production.
We look forward to continuing to work with the Kyoto Fusioneering team on this improvement and additional science & technology challenges!
#fusionenergy #fusion #microwaves #heating #ECH
High-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) are accelerating fusion research. At DIII-D, we’re creating an interactive digital twin that brings together live diagnostic data, plasma control system inputs, validated physics simulations, and engineering models of our facility to simulate plasma behavior in real time.
Using NVIDIA Omniverse, researchers can explore how changes to neutral beam injection affect plasma behavior and energy deposition on the tokamak wall—visualized instantly in 3D.
By pairing this digital twin with the physical DIII-D tokamak and its extensive experimental dataset, researchers can explore operating scenarios in parallel, reduce experimental risk, and make more informed, data-driven decisions.
Our team continues to develop the DIII-D Interactive Digital Twin, laying the groundwork for future real-world fusion applications.
Learn more at the #linkinbio.
#fusion #fusionenergy #publicprivatepartnership #AI #ML #HPC #supercomputing #NVIDIA #digitaltwin
Scientists and engineers from General Atomics and @d3d.fusion spent the day bringing fusion science to life at the San Diego Festival of Science & Engineering hosted by @lovestemSD at Petco Park last weekend.
We're proud to inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers, and innovators who will shape the future of energy. Thank you to everyone who stopped by our booth and checked out our Main Stage demonstration to learn more about fusion science!
DIII-D is operated by General Atomics on behalf of the Department of Energy.
Join us TOMORROW at the San Diego Festival of Science & Engineering at Petco Park!
This free public event is an annual tradition for us - we love getting to share our passion for STEM with everyone who attends.
Booth GS16
Stage show: 2:15PM
Watch the full preview video of Professor Matters and Dr. Boom demonstrating the powers of electricity, magnetism, and changing states of matter at the #linkinbio!
@LoveSTEMSD
#STEMoutreach #fusionenergy #magnetism #electricity #physics
