DOE Secretary Chris Wright Visits Plasma Control at the PPPL¶
We had the pleasure of sharing our group table with DOE Secretary Chris Wright and his wife, Liz, for a lively and memorable conversation on fusion and AI — just one of the many perks of being a Princeton grad student!
Newly appointed Secretary of the Department of Energy, Chris Wright, spoke to Dr Egemen Kolemen on critical milestones for AI controls in fusion reactors. When sensors go dark, or acutators fail, the reliability of quick acting, AI controls can save reactor walls from damage when instabilities in the plasma occur. Secretary Wright agreed that Markov-chain decision making is too slow, and can often bind under the demands of a nuclear fusion reactor. AI-fusion synergy is a priority of the DoE, and Plamsa Control at the PPPL is leading the charge.
Link to further details on the official PPPL LinkedIn article.