Charles M Greenfield

Bio

Charles Greenfield currently serves as ITER Research and Development Lead in the Fusion and Fission Energy and Science Directorate at ORNL, where he is responsible for organizing and encouraging U.S. research in the international ITER project.

As ITER R&D lead, Charles is building a framework for U.S. engineers, technologists, and physicists to participate in all phases of ITER commissioning, operation, and research, and establishing a process for disseminating the accumulated knowledge from the project back to U.S. researchers. He is also involved in the preparation of scenarios for operation, control, and risk mitigation when ITER is operational.

Charles has more than 35 years of experience in fusion energy research. He received his doctorate in nuclear engineering from the University of Washington before joining General Atomics in 1987. In 2012, he became assistant director of the DIII-D National Fusion Program, the largest magnetic fusion tokamak experiment in the U.S., operated by General Atomics for DOE’s Office of Science. He has also served as director of the U.S. Burning Plasma Organization, a national association of scientists and engineers researching magnetically confined fusion plasmas, since 2011.

Professional Experience

Jan. 2024 – Present: ITER R&D Lead, Fusion Energy Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN

Sept. 2011 – Present: Director, U.S. Burning Plasma Organization

Oct. 2012 – Jan. 2024: Assistant Director, DIII-D National Fusion Program, General Atomics, San Diego, CA

Sept. 2006 – Oct. 2012: Deputy Director, DIII-D Experimental Science Division, General Atomics, San Diego, CA

Sept. 1987 – Sept. 2006: Senior Staff Scientist, General Atomics, San Diego, CA

Education

Ph.D., Nuclear Engineering - Plasma Physics, University of Washington

M.S., Nuclear Engineering - Plasma Physics, University of Washington

B.S., Physics, UC San Diego