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On 27 October 2022, after a three-year break, the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator resumed its activity at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) in Greifswald. The device was rebuilt and equipped with a water-cooled carbon divertor.

From the beginning of the testing and commissioning of the W7-X, researchers from the Institute of Plasma Physics and Laser Microfusion are on-site to best prepare for operation the pulse height analyzer (PHA) designed by the IPPLM team.

The IPPLM staff in cooperation with the University of Opole also participate in the launch of another measuring system to monitor the presence of light impurities in plasma - the so-called CO-monitor spectrometer. This is the second device designed and launched by the Polish team in cooperation with IPP in Greifswald.

The actual experimental campaign on the W7-X will start in the second half of November 2022.

The Wendelstein 7-X Stellarator is an experimental fusion reactor which was first launched in 2015. It is currently the largest device of this type in the world. This project aims to investigate the concept of magnetic plasma retention as an alternative to the tokamak.

		IPPLM and the University of Opole researchers
PHA X-ray diagnostics		CO-monitor spectrometer

Photo: © IPPLM

At the end of September 2022, researchers from the Institute of Plasma Physics and Laser Microfusion took part in the 26th edition of the Science Festival. After a two-year break due to the pandemic, students from primary and secondary schools were again able to participate in festival lessons which took place at the Institute's premises.

This year, as part of the Science Festival at the IPPLM, the following meetings were held:

Radioactivity in food products and the environment. Is there anything to fear?, Dr. Ewa Łaszyńska
The aim of the lesson was to discuss the types of nuclear radiation and the methods of its detection. The meeting included, among others, demonstration of the measurement of radiation from radioactive sources, and during the visit to the Laboratory of Gamma Radiation Spectrometry participants carried out radiation measurements of products used in everyday life.

Lasers: music of light, Dr. Paweł Gąsior
During the meeting, the students got to know, among others, the quality differences between incoherent light emitted by standard light sources and coherent laser light, the possibilities and applications of various types of lasers were also presented. During their visit to the Laboratory of Laser-Induced Plasma Spectroscopy, the students watched the demonstrations prepared for them, and at the end there was a discussion on the safety of using lasers.

Fusor - an experiment "in practice", Dr. Piotr Chmielewski, Maciej Szymanski, MSc
The researchers explained to the students the concept of plasma and what kind of experiments are carried out in fusion devices. Participants also learned about the construction and operation of the fusion reactor with electrostatic-inertial plasma fusor maintenance and the general principles of conducting experiments in a physics laboratory.

Additionally, after the main topics of the meetings, students visited the selected IPPLM laboratories.

The Warsaw Science Festival is a series of meetings with scientists who present the latest achievements, research methods and challenges for the future in an accessible way. As part of the Festival, there are also lessons for organized school groups at all levels of education. The events are organized by scientific, educational and cultural institutions, as well as by associations and research societies.

Photo: © IFPiLM

On 12 September 2022, the 30th anniversary of the Main Council of Research Institutes (RGIB) was celebrated in the Main Building of the Warsaw University of Technology.

As part of the Jubilee, the best institutes having received the A or A + category in recent years as a result of the evaluation of their scientific activity were awarded. Among the winners was the Institute of Plasma Physics and Laser Microfusion. The commemorative statuette was collected by the Assoc. Prof. Andrzej Gałkowski, IPPLM Director.

During the event, videos presenting the achievements and successes of individual research institutes were shown. On this occasion, the guests also received the monograph entitled "Research Institutes - 30th anniversary of the Main Council" and visited the exhibition held in the auditorium of the Warsaw University of Technology. At the IPPLM stand, guests had the opportunity to learn about the subject of nuclear fusion and the Institute's scientific activities.

The RGIB is a representative body of 91 research institutes in Poland performing research for the economy, infrastructure, environment, agriculture, medicine, and broadly understood security and the humanities. The Council represents the interests of the research community in Poland and abroad as well as participates in economic and social policy, in particular in science and innovation. Prof. Henryk Skarżyński has been the chairman of the RGIB since 2022, and the IPPLM is represented by Assoc. Prof. Monika Kubkowska.

Photo: © IFPiLM

Prof. Tadeusz Pisarczyk, head of the Laboratory of Plasma Hydrodynamics at the IPPLM Department of Laser Plasma Physics and Applications, has been nominated as a member of the Laserlab-Europe Expert Group in the field of laser fusion.

The Laserlab-Europe Consortium coordinates and finances European laser plasma research and laser fusion projects. A group of experts evaluates the project applications awarded by the Consortium and monitors the results of their implementation.

Prof. Pisarczyk has been managing research projects for many years, mainly at the PALS Laboratory in Prague, Czech Republic. He is a recognized expert in the field of laser plasma research and laser fusion. He specializes in applying laser diagnostics to this research, mainly interferometry and polarimetry prepared by his team at the IPPLM. Prof. Pisarczyk has a wealth of scientific achievements in this field.

Photo: © IFPiLM

Assoc. Prof. Monika Kubkowska, IPPLM Deputy Director for Scientific Research, became a member of the international Advisory Board (Fachbeirat) of the Max Planc Institute of Plasma Physics (IPP) in Germany: https://www.ipp.mpg.de/17373/fachbeirat.

The IPP is an institute of the Max Planck Society. It is associated with the European fusion program and the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres. The Advisory Board is an opinion-forming body to the IPP Directorate, mainly in matters related to the planning and implementation of research projects, and advises the President of the Max Planck Society on the scientific development of the institute.

Assoc. Prof. Monika Kubkowska has been cooperating with the IPP for many years and managing research projects concerning, inter alia, developing diagnostics for the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator and testing the transport of impurities in plasma. The above nomination is an expression of recognition for the scientific achievements and competences of Dr hab. Monika Kubkowska.

Photo: © IFPiLM