The meeting began at 09:30. IFRC Members attending were

Dr. Canobbio, EC

Dr. DeMarco, Italy

Dr. Jackson, Canada, IFRC Chair

Dr. Kaufmann, Germany

Dr. Kaw, India

Dr. Nascimento, Brazil

Dr. Pamela, France

Dr. Roberts, USA, attending for Dr. Davies

Dr. Robinson, UK

Dr. Sekiguchi, Japan.

Dr. Wang, China, was absent due to illness. The Council is grateful for the services of Drs. Rodrigo and Dei Cas, whose terms ended, and Academician Kadomtsev (Agenda Item 4). The meeting was also attended by

Dr. Alejaldre, Spain, Observer

Dr. Dolan, IFRC Secretary, IAEA

Dr. Golubchikov, Russia, Observer

Dr. Ignat, IAEA

Dr. Lee, Korea, Observer.

Dr. Nakai, Japan, Observer.

Mr. K. Nakamura, International Energy Agency (IEA, Paris), Observer.

Dr. Schneider, IAEA

Dr. Smirnov, Russia, Observer [D

Dr. Sood, IAEA (for Dr. Machi)

3. Minutes of the 35^th IFRC Meeting

Drs. Jackson, Robinson, Smirnov, Canobbio, and Roberts made statements in memory of the great influence of Academician B. B. Kadomtsev. That was followed by a minute of silence in his memory

An IFRC statement will be placed on the screen in the closing session of the 17^th IAEA Fusion Energy Conference. That statement reads, "The International Fusion Research Council mourns the passing of Academician Boris Borisevich Kadomtsev, a man who made outstanding scientific contributions to plasma physics and fusion, and a person who graced us all with his warmth and kindness. He will be sorely missed by all who interacted with him over many years."

The following corrections to Agenda Attachment 5 were announced:

# 10, 11, 12, 16 done.

# 15 Not needed.

# 18 ITER had an exhibit at the IAEA general conference. It was the first time that fusion was mentioned. Mr. ElBaradei played an important role.

# 20 Dr. Chidambaram, Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of India, wrote Dr. Aymar expressing interest about India's participation in ITER. Dr. Aymar forwarded it to the ITER organization, which has taken no action.

# 22 A comparison of IEA and IAEA activities in fusion research is evolving (Agenda item 11).

# 27 The TCM was held in Hefei.

# 30 Dr. Roberts suggested that an IEA Forum could discuss future development paths.

6. Reports

6.1 No comments.

6.2 The report of the IFRC subcommittee on Atomic and Molecular Data was distributed.

Action item 36-1. IFRC members should give nominations for new subcommittee members to Dr. Dolan by 30 November (optional).

6.3 A statement by Dr. Flakus about the TCM on Fusion Safety in 2000 suggests a discussion of the IAEA role. An email message from Dr. Longhurst stated the need for technical papers as well. Dr. Roberts agreed with the statement of Dr. Longhurst.

Action item 36-2. Dr. Dolan will tell Dr. Flakus about Dr. Longhurst’s comments.

6.4 NF journal.

Dr. Ignat said that the journal is planning to be able to cope with the financial impact of declining subscriptions (341 to 317). They may raise the subscription fee. The exact reasons for the decline are difficult to quantify. The increase in pages in 1999 will help a lot, but in 2000 there will be a problem. It is required to give free copies to all Member States.

Action item 36-3. The IFRC Chair will write a letter to the IAEA regarding the discontinuation of free subscriptions, since the IAEA does not support the publication financially.

The journal is making good progress with electronic publication on the web. Authors, titles, abstracts, and articles are available and can be searched. The articles are available in PDF, HTML, and Postscript.

Dr. Ignat will leave in 1999, and the Editor position will be changed. This will be discussed at the Nuclear Fusion Board of Editors Meeting in Yokohama.

6.5 Physics section report.

It was noted that there are many more posters at this Fusion Energy Conference, because they are of good quality and space is available. The Government of Japan has still not officially approved two TCMs in Japan next week, in spite of strong efforts by Prof. Sekiguchi. This has caused delays of official IAEA invitations to missions, travel grants for participants, and visas. [Note : The approval was given on 16 October.]

The Council considered the consultant report, which was proposed for publication as an IAEA TECDOC. One purpose of the report was to suggest future IAEA activities in the inertial fusion energy area. It was suggested that, as proposed, the International Energy Agency (IEA) would be an appropriate place for implementation of some international cooperation in IFE research activities, while TCMs and CRPs could be an appropriate way for the IAEA to facilitate information exchange and cooperation with developing countries. While discussing the report several council members reiterated their opposition to the creation of an IFRC subcommittee on inertial fusion, since the IFRC Members represent all branches of fusion research. Comments on the content of the report were:

The paragraph 2.1 about the proposed subcommittee should be modified.

Pulsed power issues should also be considered in the report.

The statement that MFE and IFE use different technologies should be softened, because there are overlaps.

The appropriate governments (especially Korea) should be consulted for approval of the paragraphs in Appendix A describing the research in those countries.

Action item 36-4. Dr. Dolan will discuss this with the consultant group. He will either correct the report and obtain government approvals or drop plans for its publication as an IAEA TECDOC.

It was suggested that the consultant report should be used as an input to the IFRC report on the status of fusion. Dr. Jackson recommended that, since the report is finished, the consultant group is no longer needed, and it should not continue to meet. Dr. Dolan expressed the appreciation of the IAEA to the consultants for their services that were provided at no cost to the IAEA, including three meetings and a thorough report.

Dr. Canobbio showed an interesting graph comparing the variation of crude oil prices and US DOE Fusion Budget, from 1970-1998.

The following modifications of 1999-2000 IAEA Project G.6.01. Plasma Physics and Fusion Research tasks were noted or recommended:

Task 4. The CRP has been focused on "Comparison of compact toroid configurations". It excludes reversed field pinches and stellarators.

Task 5. The CRP is to be renamed "Inertial fusion energy power plant design".

Task 7. The TCM should be renamed something like "Energetic particles in magnetic confinement systems" to avoid confusion with high-energy physics.

Task 8. The TCM will be moved forward to 1999, because this meeting will now be held only every two years, instead of annually, and the Fusion Energy Conference is held during the even-numbered years.

Task 13. The joint book on stellarator physics is cancelled, due to lack of interest by the IEA.

Task 20. The activity on "Heat removal from a subcritical blanket of a fusion-fission system" was discussed. This meeting is mainly organized by the IAEA Nuclear Energy Department. Council members expressed concern about the restrictiveness of the title and involvement in this topic. The Physics Section may cooperate in the meeting and should encourage the organizers to include safety, tritium breeding, and proliferation concerns among the topics to be discussed. The attendance of fusion blanket experts as observers would be useful. A few travel grants may be provided to scientists from developing Member States.

Dr. Kaw reported on the TCM on "Steady State operation of tokamaks" that was held 13-15 October in Hefei, China. The participants of that meeting requested that it be held annually, with the next two meetings in Kyushu, Japan (1999) and Cadarache, France (2000). These meetings were approved.

There was a general concern that continuing institutionalized activities may preclude new activities. Dr. Jackson noted that, according to the IAEA staff, they could handle about 2 AGMs, 7 TCMs, and 2-3 CRPs per year. Although some meetings can continue without the IAEA, others require IAEA help to get started. Dr. Schneider pointed out that some meetings would stop for lack of political support without the Agency umbrella, and that the Agency provides travel grants for people from developing countries, which it could not do otherwise.

Dr. Kaufmann suggested a possible TCM on plasma wall interaction status and development. This is currently done by ITER, but maybe appropriate in 2000.

In response to a question about why there are no IAEA activities on fusion reactor materials issues, it was stated that an IEA implementing agreement covers this area. Dr. Ignat encouraged organizers of future meetings to submit the resulting articles to the Nuclear Fusion Journal for possible publication.

Action item 36-5. Drs. Dolan and Schneider. Modify the tasks as indicated.

 9. ITER information

Dr. Canobbio explained the current status of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor Engineering Design Activity (ITER EDA). Three parties (Europe, Japan, and Russia) signed the three-year extension agreement before the original expiry date of the ITER EDA Agreement. Then the US Secretary of Energy signed a unilateral statement of intent to continue participation in ITER for one year beginning 22 July 1998. There will be an ITER meeting in Yokohama to discuss further activities. Dr. Canobbio expressed appreciation for the supportive attitude of new IAEA Director General towards ITER. In response to an inquiry about possible participation of India and Korea in ITER, Dr. Canobbio said that the main issues would be political, including especially intellectual property rights. Dr. Golubchikov said that there is an ITER EDA Agreement Article 19 for unequal participation, such as by Canada and Kazakhstan, which could be used. Greater participation may be desired, but would be difficult to achieve soon, also because of the current evolution of the ITER collaboration.

10.1 17^th Fusion Energy Conference, Yokohama, Japan, 19-24 October 1998

Dr. Sekiguchi distributed information about satellite meetings. Dolan commended the Japanese hosts for the excellent organization of the 17^th IAEA Fusion Energy Conference.

10.2 18^th Fusion Energy Conference, Sorrento, Italy, 4-10 October 2000.

Dr. De Marco stated that the formal steps are being taken to authorize this meeting in Italy. They have planned for 600 participants, but could handle up to 1000 people. The meeting will be from Wednesday to Tuesday. In response to a question from Dr. Kaw about the cost to host a Fusion Energy Conference Dr. De Marco said that they have provided 390 Million Lire; Dr. Jackson said that it costs roughly 200 k$; and Prof. Sekiguchi said that JAERI asked government for about 500 k$. The host should provide some satellite meeting rooms for use during the conference, but rooms to be used before or after the conference should be financed by the users. This year we have exhibitions from JET, LHD, JT-60U, and ITER, and it will probably be desirable to have exhibitions again at future Fusion Energy Conferences.

10.3 19^th Fusion Energy Conference, 2002

Sites were proposed in Madison, Wisconsin, USA (July 2002); in Lyon, France (October 2002); and in Lisboa, Portugal. Dr. Jackson noted that there has been a rotation in the past among North America, Europe, and Asia. After discussions, the site in France was selected by the Council for recommendation to the Agency.

Action item 36-6. Dr. Pamela should arrange for optional visits to scientific facilities ( Laser Megajoule Facility, CERN, European Synchrotron Facility) in conjunction with the Conference. The Conference will be held Monday to Saturday.

For the meeting in 2004, besides interest from the USA and Portugal, there may be interest from Korea and other countries. Proposals for that meeting will be due in June 2000, about 3-4 months before the IFRC meeting in October.

11. Comparison of IAEA and IEA activities

Mr. Nakamura made a brief presentation on IEA activities. In response to a question about how to join an implementing agreement, he said that a representative of an interested country should write to the IEA. Then an expert should attend the Executive Committee Meeting of the pertinent Implementing Agreement. Then the country should be invited to join, if it expresses an interest. There is no specified IEA budget for fusion, just a general budget for the division.

Agenda Attachment 11.1 "Comparison of IEA and IAEA Activities in Fusion Research" was discussed. Dr. Roberts said that each advisory committee (IFRC and FPCC) could endorse or adjust the comparison.

Action item 36-7. IFRC members should send comments to Dr. Dolan by 18 November.

Action item 36-8. Dr. Dolan will incorporate comments and write some text to accompany the table, based on Dr. Roberts’ draft. He will send it to the IFRC for further comments by 30 November, then to the IEA by 17 December for consideration by the FPCC in January.

12. International Collaboration

The proposed "International Fusion Research Cooperation Programme" (IFRCP) was discussed. One example of a possible implementation of this programme would be cooperation on steady state tokamaks, such as development of first wall components for steady state tokamaks in India & China, in collaboration with high heat flux facilities in Europe, Japan, or the USA. Dr. Roberts suggested involving also people who understand working agreements and bureaucracies, using past experience on how to overcome possible obstacles, such as in legal matters. Dr. Jackson stressed the importance of the Missions of Member States asking the Agency to support this proposal. Dr. Kaw said that the Governing Committee could work on a case by case basis to ask for support from other countries’ experience. The Council supports this proposal. It was also suggested to add educational programs, such as postdocs at advanced laboratories, to this programme.

Action item 36-9. Dr. Dolan will consider the feasibility of adding educational programmes.

Action item 36-10. The IFRC Chair will write a letter to the IAEA Director General endorsing the IFRCP. [Note: This action will be postponed, as recommended by Dr. S. Mori.]

13. Building support for IAEA Fusion Research Activities

"Status of World Fusion Research"

A committee consisting of Dr. Canobbio, Dr. Kaw, and people from Japan, Russia, and the USA will organize the writing of the IFRC report on the "Status of World Fusion Research", which was previously written in 1970, 1977, 1990. Dr. Canobbio chaired the committee that wrote the 1990 report, and he will chair the committee again. That report had about 40 pages with 10 pages executive summary, and it was supplemented by 14 detailed technical papers that were not reviewed by the IFRC. The goal will be to complete the writing of the report in one year, by the end of October 1999.

Dr. Sekiguchi stated that he will resign from IFRC after this meeting, and does not know who will succeed him. The IFRC is grateful to Dr. Sekiguchi for his many years of effective service.

Action item 36-11. Drs. Roberts, Smirnov, and Sekiguchi (or his successor) should suggest people from their countries to serve on the fusion status report committee by 30 November.

Action item 36-12. Dr. Canobbio will chair the committee to write the "Status of World Fusion Research".

It was planned to hold a preliminary meeting in Yokohama. Since the document needs to be endorsed word by word by the IFRC, its practical length is limited. The writers should avoid comparisons of the merits of various types of fusion research. Instead of 14 detailed technical papers, we could just cite an appropriate bibliography.

Public information brochure

The Council agreed that an IAEA public information brochure on fusion research for the general public is desirable. It could talk about energy needs and fundamentals of fusion research. It should avoid comparison of fission and fusion and should respect the different orientations of the various fusion programs, such as the fusion energy science character of the US program, versus the fusion energy development emphasis of other programs. It should give numbers that explain the good progress that we have made. Several groups, including the UK, France, Germany, and the USA have good public information experts. It was suggested that Dr. Schneider write a first draft brochure text and then discuss it with those experts. It was suggested that supervision of the brochure should be under the "status of fusion research" editorial board. It was also suggested that the brochure be translated into several languages by the IFRC members’ institutions and also put on the web.

Action item 36-13. IFRC members with available public information experts should give Dr. Schneider the contact information for these experts (by the end of November).

Geneva Group:

There has been some opposition from the Geneva Group to fusion research activities at the IAEA. Some people think that fusion research is a "rich business" that does not need the IAEA. Other countries are focused on safeguards and nuclear safety, and would like not to divert funds from those topics. There are no clear promoters of fusion research in the Geneva Group. Dr. Dolan asked for advice about how to deal with the problem. For example, it might be feasible to have a seminar where an expert, such as Dr. Pinkau, would explain the need for continuing fusion research, world progress, and the importance of IAEA involvement. If such a meeting occurs, it would help to have the IFRC Chair attend to answer concerns.

Action item 36-14. IFRC members from Geneva Group countries should consult their mission staffs in Vienna by 18 November about what would be effective and then advise Dr. Dolan.

14. 37th IFRC Meeting

It was decided last year to have one-day meetings in even-numbered years in conjunction with the Fusion Energy Conference, and two-day meetings in odd-numbered years in Vienna, to consider the coming two-year programme plan. The 37^th IFRC meeting will be held 9-10 June 1999 in Vienna.

15. Selection of new IFRC Chair.

The request from Dr. Hogan for IAEA co-sponsorship of the First International Conference on Inertial Fusion Sciences and Applications (IFSA) (Bordeaux, France, 12-17 September 1999) was discussed. Dr. Dolan explained that IAEA "cooperation" in non-Agency meetings was common. The Agency would help with advertising the meeting, participate on the programme committee, and perhaps provide travel support for scientists from developing Member States. There were concerns that this might set a precedent and that such requests might become frequent. Originally an IAEA TCM on a similar topic was planned for 1998, but the hosts suggested combining it with the Bordeaux meeting instead, partly because of the difficulty of obtaining government nominations for all the desired participants. On the basis of a policy decided by the IFRC at its 1995 meeting, the Council decided that it is appropriate to consider such requests on a case by case basis, and in this instance to recommend approval of Dr. Hogan’s request.

Dr. Roberts noted that there was irritation at the US Department of Energy about how the IAEA handles new CRPs. The IAEA contacted scientists directly, without going through the government.

Action item 36-15. Dr. Dolan will check on the official Agency procedure and notify the IFRC. He will try to provide information in advance about future CRPs to interested parties, including the US DOE.

It was announced that Walter Sadowski, USA, will organize a meeting on "remote participation" in conjunction with the present Fusion Energy Conference. He already organized a seminar on that topic on the occasion of the European Physical Society Meeting in Prague.

The meeting was adjourned at 18:15.

Action item 36-16. IFRC members should review these draft Minutes and send comments to Dr. Dolan by 30 November. It is especially important to correct the Action Items.

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