Fusion research in the US

Research on controlled thermonuclear fusion in the United States is “declining in stature relative to that of the rest of the world.” So remarked the Controlled Thermonuclear Research Review Panel in its recent report to the Atomic Energy Commission and the Joint Congressional Committee on Atomic Energy. Although the panel had praise for the work that is being done or has been done on controlled thermonuclear research (CTR) in the United States, it was concerned that the program was neither large enough nor moving as rapidly as it ought and concluded that it would “deteriorate rapidly to a secondary role if the present static budget of the AEC is continued.”