Reply To: Computational resources available from the DOE

[benf]

Breakable also contributes a lot as (volunteer) secretary of the board of directors and is instrumental in keeping us going. He’s expressing the similar feelings I have as well. It is such an uphill battle to advocate and promote this technology. But any assistance from the public is definitely welcome on any level and I believe that having supporters with a historical background at the center of fusion program development promoting Focus Fusion is a very positive step forward. I’d find it hard to believe that senior officials at the DOE’s Fusion Energy Science program wouldn’t take notice on some level as they think about their history of funding initiatives, which have been geared primarily to the sole paradigm of the tokamak.

The Focus Fusion Society is a nonprofit organization that at this point is all volunteer. It is hard for any of us to devote full time attention to the task of promoting our mission. Trying to provide leadership has it’s challenges given our circumstances. One way to exercise leadership is through networking. In the age of the internet it is one way to reach out to people to engage them with the issues of fusion energy. It can be very surprising to connect with other people on the subject. If they communicate back to us in a supportive way then we’ve had some success. Trying to reach out to and influence people who are in authority, with financial and political weight is also something we should try to do. They can keep doors closed but they can also open them. No that this is the only tactic we have, we’re also hoping to reach out to the broader public as with initiatives like the crowdfunding campaign.

This website also does a lot to network, to reach out to people and provide education around the issues of fusion as well as being a sounding board for advancing the research. Leadership comes in many forms, shapes and sizes. Overall it’s a good thing to have people with scientific backgrounds in fusion research weighing in on the subject of the viability of Focus Fusion.