1. Measurement Innovation Program
Mark Foster
Office of Science
Fusion Energy Sciences
Fusion Power Associates Meeting
39th Annual Meeting and Symposium
December 5, 2018

2. Some Program Characteristics
Developmental/new

3. Some Program Characteristics
Developmental/new
Better, faster, cheaper, smaller, simpler…

4. Some Program Characteristics
Developmental/new
Better, faster, cheaper, smaller, simpler…
Science, control, fusion performance

5. Some Program Characteristics
Developmental/new
Better, faster, cheaper, smaller, simpler…
Science, control, fusion performance
Standard facility diagnostics

6. Some Program Characteristics
Developmental/new
Better, faster, cheaper, smaller, simpler…
Science, control, fusion performance
Standard facility diagnostics
University and industry players

7. Some Background
Previous competitive solicitation for measurement innovation was published in FY 2012, with 4 year awards made in FY 2013 – a series of workshops and reports followed…
“Develop novel diagnostic techniques and their applications to new, unexplored, or unfamiliar plasma regimes and scenarios.”
“New innovative diagnostics with ever-increasing resolution in both space and time have enabled previously inaccessible phenomena to be measured and quantified.”
“…diagnostics should continue to be developed to provide key physics insights.”
The use and need for advanced diagnostics and measurement techniques is a recurring theme in all reports.
“Make high resolution measurements of plasma properties and dissipation processes in the divertor and in the SOL near the separatrix”
“Development and testing in present devices of sensors that can provide the required measurements for disruption prediction”

8. Innovation Webster - The introduction of something new.
A new idea, method, or device.
Innovation – it can be applied to more than the measurement techniques…

9. Innovation in Solicitation
Problem: High risk concepts that could ultimately provide great value if successful often do not do well in competition with techniques that have been developed to the point of full prototype testing on major facilities.
Proposed Solution (Francis Thio innovation): For the 2017 Funding Opportunity Announcement and Laboratory Call solicit two types of proposals – a category specifically designated for high risk, high payoff exploratory work (Category 1), along with the usual call for prototype development and deployment (Category 2).

10. Innovation in Solicitation “Category 1”
Category 1: “High-Risk, High-Reward: This category will be dedicated to concept exploration and feasibility studies of truly novel and untested diagnostic approaches (techniques, fabrication technologies, materials, etc.) that could provide radically new insights for future or existing major fusion facilities and/or transform the field of diagnostics for fusion experiments. These applications may only span 1 to 2 years in duration and be funded at about $50,000 to $200,000 total per award. While renewals of awards are permissible under this Category, the objective is to seed development that could quickly lead to a submission of applications of the Category 2 type in future solicitations.”
Language from FOA and Lab Call published July 29, 2016

11. Innovation in Solicitation “Category 2”
Category 2: “Complex Development: This category is for applications of a substantial developmental effort resulting in the fabrication and the testing of the proposed prototype diagnostics over one or two funding cycles. These awards span 3 years, and cost typically, but not limited to, about $600,000 to $1,200,000 total per award in one funding cycle.”
Language from FOA and Lab Call published July 29, 2016

12. Robust Community Response
44 pre-applications were received (11 lab, 33 non-lab) - 40 were encouraged
39 separate technical proposals were submitted - $31.4M total request
All proposals were peer reviewed using standard rating criteria (merit, appropriateness, competency, budget, progress)
Proposals were ranked/competed in the separate categories
1.2
2.9 8
10.1 14 14
17.2 3
-2 of the Cat 2 non-lab proposals involved collaborations with labs
-2 of the Cat 2 lab proposals involved collaborations with non-labs
-1 of the Cat 1 ab proposals involved collaborations with non-labs

13. Healthy Number of Awards Supported
Decisions were made at the beginning of (calendar) 2017 to try to support 25 (64%) of the 39 submitted proposals.
13 (76%) of the 17 Category 1 proposals – all new
12 (55%) of the 22 Category 2 proposals – 8 renewals, 4 new awards (one renewal was supported for 2 years at reduced funding to close out the development effort and transition to facility funding)
$10.1 M funding available in FY 2017 was used to support 17 of the 25 awards
All non-labs were fully funded and laboratories received first year funding
$6.8 M funding available in FY 2018 was used to support the remaining 8 awards
All non-labs were fully funded and all laboratory efforts were also brought up to full project period funding
Generous funding levels in FY 2017 and FY 2018 enabled many awards to be made

14. Award Distribution 9
6.6 6 5
4.5 5
2.7 2 2
1.6 .8 .7
Note: Number of awards is greater than the total selected proposals due to multiple awards for collaborative efforts

15. The Future
Curt Bolton is now the FES Program Manager for the measurement innovation program.
The measurement innovation program has supported and fostered the development of internationally recognized expertise in many diagnostic techniques over the years – and will continue to do so.
This expertise was tapped to develop key diagnostic systems to be deployed on ITER in the future: Upper IR/Visible Cameras Low Field Side Reflectometer Motional Stark Effect Polarimeter Electron Cyclotron Emission Radiometer Toroidal Interferometer/Polarimeter Core Imaging X-ray Spectrometer Residual Gas Analyzer

16. Backup slides/lists

17. Category 1 Awards – Non-lab led

18. Category 1 Awards – Laboratory led

19. Category 2 Awards – Non-lab led

20. Category 2 Awards – Laboratory led