John Schmidt of West Windsor, recently retired from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), and received the DOE Distinguished Associate Award at his retirement dinner. Schmidt, who began his career at PPPL in 1969, was head of the Off-site Research Department.
The award citation for Schmidt states, “In recognition of your successful career of more than 36 years at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. You have made outstanding contributions to fusion research and demonstrated the ability to lead diverse teams of scientists and engineers in producing designs of ground breaking fusion experiments, including the overwhelmingly successful Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor that completed its mission in 1997, the National Spherical Torus Experiment that is currently producing exciting scientific results at PPPL, and the KSTAR Experiment that is being built in Korea based on the design of the Tokamak Physics Experiment effort that you led.”
Schmidt received a bachelor’s degree in engineering physics from South Dakota State University in 1962, and a master’s in physics in 1964 and a Ph.D. in physics in 1969, both from the University of Wisconsin. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society and was named a distinguished engineer by South Dakota State University.
Schmidt has more than 32 years of experience in technical management, including more than 24 years organizing and managing the design phase of large fusion energy experiments. In 1997, he served as interim director of PPPL during a six-month search for a new director. During his career at the PPPL, he was head of the Advanced Projects Department from 1996 to 2005, project director of the Tokamak Physics Experiment from 1992-1995, head of the Applied Physics Division for eight years, a consultant on the International Atomic Energy Agency for three years, and project manager and project director of several experiments.
