The Joint Institute for Fusion
Theory (JIFT) is one of the three programs through which the
US-Japan Fusion Research Collaboration is organized. The other two programs
are the Fusion Physics Planning Committee (FPPC) and the
Fusion Technology Planning Committee (FTPC).
The distinctive objectives
of the JIFT program are:
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to advance the theoretical understanding
of plasmas, with special emphasis on stability, equilibrium, heating, and
transport in magnetic fusion systems
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to develop fundamental theoretical and
computational tools and concepts for understanding nonlinear plasma phenomena.
Both objectives are pursued through
collaborations between U.S. and Japanese scientists by means of various
types of exchange program activities?namely, workshops, exchange visitors,
and joint computational projects.
Each year the JIFT program usually
consists of four topical workshops (two in each country), six exchange
scientists (three from each country), and a fluctuating number of joint
computational projects (on the order of a dozen). So far, during
its 21 years of successful operation, JIFT has sponsored 122 long-term
visits by exchange scientists, 75 topical workshops, and 123 joint computational
projects.
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The workshops typically have an attendance
of 15-30 participants, of whom usually three to seven scientists (depending
on the particular workshop) travel to the workshop from the non-host country.
Scientists from countries other than the U.S. and Japan are also often
invited to participate in JIFT workshops, either as observers or multi-laterals.
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Of the approximately three exchange
visitors in each direction every year, one (called the "JIFT Visiting Professor")
is supported by the host country, while the others (called "Exchange Scientists")
are supported by the sending country. The visits of the Exchange
Scientists usually last from several weeks to a month or two in duration,
whereas the Visiting Professors normally stay for three months.
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The third category of JIFT exchange
activities consists of joint computational projects. In general these
are continuing collaborations on various problems of current interest,
which initially develop out of interactions at workshops and through individual
exchange visits.
The topics and also the participating
scientists for the JIFT exchange visits, workshops, and joint computational
projects are selected so as to have a balanced representation of critical
issues in magnetic fusion research, including both fundamental problems
as well as questions of near-term significance, and also to take into account
the specific capabilities and interests of both countries. The Japanese
and US members of the JIFT Steering Committee agree together on the appropriateness
of proposed topics before recommending them.
Joint
Institute for Fusion Theory [.pdf file]
Report presented at a meeting of
the FESAC Panel
to Review the Fusion Theory and
Computation Program
(University of California, Los Angeles,
January 31, 2001)
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