German researcher wins Alfvén Prize for contributions to fusion research
Prof. Dr. Friedrich Wagner of the Max-Planck-Institute for Plasma Physics has won the Hannes Alfvén Prize of the European Physical Society. Prof. Wagner is the first German researcher to win the award, which recognizes his important contribution to research in the field of fusion energy. The prize was presented on 2 July, at the opening of the EPS Plasma Physics Conference in Warsaw, Poland.
In 1982, Wagner discovered a plasma state he termed the "High-confinement Regime" or "H-Regime", a discovery which started a new era in plasma physics. The "H-Regime" enables the production of a significant amount of fusion energy and is of key importance to the functioning of ITER.