MS&T Director Accepts Leadership Position with U.S. ITER Project Office
May 22, 2006
Contact:
Susan Ray, (850) 644-9651
sray@magnet.fsu.edu
John Miller, (850) 644-0929
miller@magnet.fsu.edu
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — John Miller, director of Magnet Science and Technology (MS&T) at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, is returning to his Tennessee roots.
The Volunteer State native has accepted a position at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory as the magnet system team leader for the U.S. ITER Project Office. ITER, which stands for International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, is a joint international research and development project that aims to demonstrate the scientific and technical feasibility of fusion power.
During his almost 15 years of service to the magnet lab, Miller's contributions have been invaluable in positioning MS&T as an internationally preeminent organization for state-of-the-art magnet systems. Chief among those contributions is the 45-tesla hybrid magnet, the first and still only magnet of its kind in the world.
That tradition of innovation will continue under the leadership of Interim Director Mark Bird. During the past 14 years, Bird has been instrumental in creating the resistive magnet group, and leading the development of high field resistive magnets and "Florida-Bitter" magnet technology. Many of these World Record magnets are now the international standard for high field resistive magnets, in place at four laboratories on three continents.
In his new position, Bird will direct the overall activities of MS&T and be the focal point for coordinating MS&T efforts on several immediate opportunities for the design, development and manufacture of state-of-the-art magnet systems.
"The lab's users certainly have a friend in Mark Bird," said magnet lab Director Gregory S. Boebinger. "He is always striving for higher and better fields in response to the needs of the users, and he is an adept project manager whose abilities will now benefit the lab to an even greater extent."
Miller leaves a group that he molded to be flexible.
"One of the greatest tributes to John's tenure as director of MS&T is that he provided opportunities for individual career growth and mentoring," said Brian Fairhurst, the magnet lab's associate director for management and administration. "That helped foster an environment that will provide smooth and seamless transition to new leadership."
Miller was born and raised in Tennessee, and received both his undergraduate and master's degrees in physics from East Tennessee State University. (He received his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Virginia). From 1974 to 1983, he was a research scientist at Oak Ridge in the Fusion Energy Division, where he worked on the development of superconducting magnets.
Fusion energy has always been one of Miller's greatest professional interests, and this is not his first experience with ITER. Between 1988 and 1990, he led the magnet design unit during the conceptual design phase of ITER. In his new role, Miller will have responsibility for delivering the ITER Central Solenoid, a 6.4-Giga-Joule, 800-metric-ton magnet at the center of the ITER Tokamak (reactor) that helps drive and control the plasma.
Miller, who will leave at the end of June, said he will greatly miss the people with whom he worked at the magnet lab.
"Their spirit and 'can do' attitude have made 15 years fly by," said Miller. "They made the opportunities to create nearly boundless and they will certainly be missed."
The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (www.magnet.fsu.edu) develops and operates state-of-the-art high-magnetic-field facilities that faculty and visiting scientists and engineers use for research in physics, biology, bioengineering, chemistry, geochemistry, biochemistry, and materials science. Sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the state of Florida, the lab is operated by Florida State University, and its 330,000-square-foot main facility is located in Tallahassee's Innovation Park. The magnet lab also has facilities at the University of Florida and at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.
