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David C. Pace @fusion.energy · 04/10/2026

Congratulations to the DIII-D National Fusion Facility team on being honored with the 2026 Dawson award for advancing the negative triangularity scenario! Read below to learn more about the science behind this achievement. 🧪 d3dfusion.org/dawsonaward2...

Negative triangularity plasma in the DIII-D tokamak.

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David C. Pace @fusion.energy · 10/09/2026

DIII-D is hosting public tours as part of Nuclear Science Week. Join us 21 October for an in-person look at the largest fusion research facility in the US. See how our team develops new insights into fusion energy and translates that into innovation. 🧪 Advanced registration required: bit.ly/4wpQB7d

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David C. Pace @fusion.energy · 27/07/2026

ITER has completed stacking assembly of the Central Solenoid magnet. That's six 100+ ton modules stacked vertically to a height of 18 meters while maintaining alignment on the mm-scale. Most powerful electromagnet ever built in a device that will demonstrate fusion energy beyond anything previous.

image from https://www.iter.org/node/20687/standing-tall

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David C. Pace @fusion.energy · 26/07/2026

To achieve fusion energy using magnetic confinement to hold the plasma, we need the ideal magnetic field shape. That shape results from the combined magnetic fields of the device's electromagnets and those of the plasma itself. Driving plasma current remains a scientific challenge in fusion. 🧪

Conceptual diagram of computational modeling of lower hybrid wave propagation and current drive in plasmas from the DIII-D device (realized) and ARC (in-design).

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David C. Pace @fusion.energy · 23/07/2026

The best job in fusion energy is now open: DIII-D Deputy Director. A broad spectrum of fusion science and technology is discovered, developed, and understood through the efforts of the 1,000 person DIII-D team.

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David C. Pace @fusion.energy · 01/04/2026

A big step forward for hotter fusion plasmas! A new gyrotron is completing installation at d3dfusion.org and it will deliver 1 MW of heating and current drive power to the plasma.The unique aspect of this unit is that it can output power at three different frequencies (all above 100 GHz). 🧪 1/2

A gyrotron is installed at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility.

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David C. Pace @fusion.energy · 31/03/2026

Tokamaks achieve fusion by confining plasmas in a magnetic bottle. Plasma transport at the boundary of that bottle largely determines overall fusion power performance. Plasmas produce instabilities and waves at the boundary, and those can drive plasma particles outward to the device wall. 🧪 1/4

Conceptual schematic of experimental research performed at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility. The research took fusion plasmas with quiescent boundaries and performed NIMROD simulations to identify instability thresholds and characteristics as a function of impurity density and species.

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David C. Pace @fusion.energy · 21/03/2026

A challenge for designing pilot fusion energy power plants is that a wide range of their parameter space has never been observed (because no similar machine has ever existed), demanding that the foundational science be solid enough to allow for high-confidence predictions of their behavior. 🧪 1/5

Conceptual schematic of a plasma wave and wave-particle interaction experiment performed in the DIII-D tokamak at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility.

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David C. Pace @fusion.energy · 16/03/2026

Did you know that the most popular tour of the early 2020's was Taylor Swift's "The Eras Tour" and that the second most popular tour was the DIII-D National Fusion Facility Fusion Energy Week tour? For Fusion Energy Week 2026, DIII-D will be hosting three in-person and two virtual tours. 🧪 1/2

interior view of the DIII-D tokamak at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility

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David C. Pace @fusion.energy · 13/03/2026

The application process for Fall 2026 Undergraduate Internships at U.S. Department of Energy laboratories is now open! See the announcement here, content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USD... 🧪 If you are an undergraduate interested in fusion energy, then we hope you'll apply for d3dfusion.org 1/3

undergraduate interns pose at a scale model of the DIII-D tokamak at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility alongside the program manager.

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David C. Pace @fusion.energy · 07/03/2026

Materials science & fusion science are having a blast working together to commercialize fusion energy. As the next generation of fusion devices is being designed and constructed, many questions remain concerning the survivability and operational impacts of the selected plasma-facing materials. 1/5 🧪

Conceptual schematic of fusion energy materials research experiments conducted at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility. Various candidate plasma-facing materials are exposed to fusion conditions and behaviors such as erosion and arc suppression.

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David C. Pace @fusion.energy · 03/03/2026

Completing a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering with an experimental fusion energy project is an incredible achievement. @utknoxville.bsky.social tells of Jeremy Mateja's experiments at d3dfusion.org exploring how eroded wall materials can be removed from fusion reactors. ne.utk.edu/tokamak-expe... 🧪

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David C. Pace @fusion.energy · 01/03/2026

A priority for fusion energy is to understand power exhaust sufficiently to design systems that handle that intense power. In the work below, researchers used d3dfusion.org to generate a comprehensive experimental data set and then coupled models to accurately calculate plasma behavior. 🧪

Schematic of research at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility in which integrated models reproduce plasma pedestal structure. Experiments utilized three different divertor geometries to build a comprehensive data set for comparing against different optimizations of integrated models. This work is published in R.S. Wilcox et al 2026 Nucl. Fusion 66 036005, DOI 10.1088/1741-4326/ae3845

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David C. Pace @fusion.energy · 02/11/2025

At d3dfusion.org we inject microwaves (100 - 200 GHz) to heat and drive current in our fusion plasmas. We've just unboxed our newest 1 MW microwave unit, a gyrotron named Zapdos, and are excited to bring it online. This unit will extend our plasma parameter range deeper into reactor territory. 🧪

The RF team at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility stands next to a just opened crate featuring a MW-class gyrotron manufactured by Kyoto Fusioneering. This gyrotron will be used for heating and current drive in fusion energy experiments.

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David C. Pace @fusion.energy · 31/10/2025

Best way to control a fusion plasma is likely combining external actuators & internal plasma behaviors. Fusion plasmas produce waves and modes that affect particle & energy transport across the device. The more the plasma self-regulates, the less effort (cost) needs to come from external control. 🧪

Schematic of an experiment in the DIII-D National Fusion Facility. The experiment made simultaneous measurements of many plasma characteristics in order to determine the driver of an edge mode dominant in the enhanced D-alpha H-mode scenario.

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David C. Pace @fusion.energy · 29/10/2025

d3dfusion.org announces the call for experimental proposals for the next Research Campaign. Whether you are working in plasma science, engineering, computing and data science, or anything else in fusion energy, we are here to help you discover & advance. Learn more: d3dfusion.org/rof/ 🧪

banner graphic announcing the 2026 call for proposals to participate in the next Research Campaign at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility. Information available at d3dfusion.org/rof

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David C. Pace @fusion.energy · 26/10/2025

Researchers from d3dfusion.org demonstrate a new controller for the electron temperature profile. This controller integrates many measurements and actuators to achieve the targeted values across the plasma. 🧪⚛️ S. Morosohk, et al., Nuclear Fusion 65, 106031 (2025), iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1...

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David C. Pace @fusion.energy · 17/10/2025

The fusion energy development roadmap has just been released by the US Department of Energy. You'll see increasing strategic emphasis placed on public-private partnerships as a mechanism to accelerate commercialization. www.energy.gov/sites/defaul...

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David C. Pace @fusion.energy · 13/10/2025

The San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation has released a report, "Catalyzing California's Fusion Advantage: Roadmap to Commercialization," and it's a must read for those seeking to build a fusion energy economy in California. See the full report at fusionca.org

Cover for the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation report, "Catalyzing California's Fusion Advantage: Roadmap to Commercialization."

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David C. Pace @fusion.energy · 11/10/2025

We need a plasma scenario that produces tremendous energy output without melting the walls of the fusion reactor. Experiments at d3dfusion.org show promise for the negative triangularity scenario. Modeling identifies the adjustments that might make this a real solution. 🧪⚛️ doi.org/10.1088/1361...

Conceptual diagram of a negative triangularity experiment conducted at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility.

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David C. Pace @fusion.energy · 02/04/2025

Michel Laberge, Georgy Subbotin, Aleksei Zolotarev, Tom Gibbs, Sofiane Alla, Jin-Soo Kim, Amanda Niedfeldt, Steven McNamara, Richard A. Kraaijenhagen, Bibake Uppal, Tessa Van Volkenburg, Ria Meston, Daniel Velázquez, Angelica Ottaviano, David Gates, Allan Grosvenor, and Ayesha Dewan.

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David C. Pace @fusion.energy · 09/03/2025

Plasma science determines many characteristics of fusion energy reactors. Instabilities in the plasma edge correlate to the power exhaust reaching the walls. This exhaust can be expelled in highly concentrated regions, setting challenging requirements for materials. doi.org/10.1088/1741... 🧪⚛️

Conceptual diagram of a plasma turbulence spreading experiment conducted on the DIII-D tokamak at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility.

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David C. Pace @fusion.energy · 02/03/2025

The physics of shear suppression of turbulence-driven transport is very well understood in the community. I attach a GYRO simulation below that shows the structures (red/blue features) being sheared apart by plasma flows. This plasma simulation code can be found at gafusion.github.io/doc/gyro.html

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David C. Pace @fusion.energy · 02/03/2025

The negative triangularity plasma scenario is shaking up fusion energy research due to its high performance and ability to significantly reduce the engineering requirements for a reactor. New research shows how to optimize this scenario. doi.org/10.1088/1361... #fusionenergy #science

Conceptual diagram of a negative triangularity energy confinement experiment performed in the DIII-D tokamak at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility.

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David C. Pace @fusion.energy · 01/03/2025

Gratitude to @fusionindustry.bsky.social (FIA) for hosting a great Annual Policy Conference! I took pride introducing the DIII-D National Fusion Facility and announcing that eight FIA member organizations are DIII-D users conducting fundamental R&D at the facility. #fusionenergy #policy #energy

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David C. Pace @fusion.energy · 22/02/2025

To make fusion energy, negative triangularity directs power exhaust into a region with lower magnetic field, causing power to spread more broadly along the wall. This would reduce engineering requirements for the plasma facing wall material in a reactor. doi.org/10.1088/1741... #fusionenergy

Conceptual diagram of a negative triangularity experiment performed at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility.

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David C. Pace @fusion.energy · 20/02/2025

Talks from the symposium of Fusion Power Associates are available. You might find it interesting to read these perspectives from different fusion energy research teams, firefusionpower.org/fpa_annual_m... Or skip straight to the DIII-D talk! firefusionpower.org/FPA24_5-3_Pa... #fusionenergy

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David C. Pace @fusion.energy · 18/02/2025

I'll be at the FIA Policy Conference next week to discuss all the ways that the DIII-D National Fusion Facility can support the fundamental research and development needs of the fusion energy industry. Teamwork makes the dream work 😀 www.fusionindustryassociation.org/fia-annual-c... #fusionenergy

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David C. Pace @fusion.energy · 15/02/2025

Minimizing interactions between fusion plasmas and device walls in fusion energy reactors is essential. A single point of boron injection can be sufficient to cover the entire targeted surface, a huge simplification for using this technique in reactors. #fusionenergy #science doi.org/10.1016/j.nm...

Schematic of an experiment in the DIII-D tokamak at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility. Powdered boron is injected into the fusion plasma and the way it coats the walls is investigated to inform technology development for fusion energy reactors.

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David C. Pace @fusion.energy · 08/02/2025

DIII-D's first Fusion Materials Industry day brings together 3 companies that will cooperatively utilize a run day at DIII-D to advance their technologies. Tokamak Energy: advanced tungsten materials Avalanche Energy: MPEAs, ceramics Thea Energy: pebble-rod tech #fusionenergy #science #teamwork

Scientist adjusting a tile in the DIII-D tokamak at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility

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David C. Pace @fusion.energy · 22/01/2025

Fusion #energy is a tough puzzle. This publication provides an overview of the DIII-D National Fusion Facility. DIII-D advances fusion energy through research on materials, data science, plasma physics, reactor operations and control, #technology, and more. doi.org/10.1088/1741... #fusionenergy

schematic of fusion energy research data overlaid on photo of the DIII-D tokamak

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David C. Pace @fusion.energy · 16/01/2025

Relativistic (runaway) electron beams have the potential to cause serious damage in fusion reactors. A team used DIII-D to create controlled beams and then measured their behavior multiple ways, thereby improving our understanding of the dynamics. dx.doi.org/10.1088/1741... #fusionenergy #technology

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David C. Pace @fusion.energy · 13/01/2025

Excited to be participating in TechCon SoCal this month! San Diego is full of entrepreneurial spirit and brilliant people, and I hope we can convince more of them to get involved with commercializing fusion energy. techconsocal.com #fusionenergy #techconsocal #techconsocal2025

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David C. Pace @fusion.energy · 11/01/2025

Injecting electromagnetic waves into a fusion plasma is a great way to drive current to create the ideal magnetic field profile. Modeling a helicon antenna at DIII-D determined the best design. E.-H. Kim, et al., Phys. Plasmas (2024), doi.org/10.1063/5.02... #science #technology #fusionenergy

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