Sept. 21, 2026
Contact: Janese Heavin, heavinj@missouri.edu
The University of Missouri Research Reactor (MURR) is helping scientists take a major step toward one of the world’s most ambitious energy goals: harnessing the power of nuclear fusion.
MURR has entered into an agreement with the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory managed by Princeton University, to support ITER, a massive international project in southern France designed to demonstrate whether fusion could one day provide energy at scale to power communities around the world.
The ITER project is a consortium of nations, including the United States (US ITER), that is collaborating to build the world's largest tokamak, a ring-shaped machine designed to trap hot plasma and produce the conditions necessary to achieve fusion — the same fundamental process that powers the sun.
US ITER is managed for the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science by Oak Ridge National Laboratory with partners Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) and Savannah River National Laboratory.
“Fusion has the potential to transform how the world produces energy, and MURR is distinctly qualified to help advance that work,” said Matt Sanford, executive director of MURR. “From right here in Missouri, our reactor is contributing capabilities that few facilities in the world can provide to one of the most ambitious scientific projects underway today. That’s a powerful example of the role MURR can play in solving challenges that extend far beyond our state, and we appreciate the opportunity to contribute to this exciting project.”
As part of this agreement, MURR will play a critical role in materials testing of a key component used in diagnostic equipment designed by PPPL for use in the ITER project. Because of its unique design and operating schedule, MURR is one of the few facilities in the world capable of supporting this type of testing.
“This is exactly the type of high-impact work that demonstrates MURR’s role in supporting DOE priorities and major U.S. scientific and manufacturing initiatives,” said John Brockman, associate director of research and education at MURR.
Researchers at MURR will test graphite material from an instrument designed by PPPL to measure the temperature of charged particles inside plasma. To determine whether the material can withstand the extreme conditions at ITER, samples will be exposed to high levels of radiation at MURR to assess material degradation.
“Fusion neutrons are hard on materials, and it's not easy to test their predicted effects at ITER. We need a fission neutron source with similar properties to ITER, but commercial reactors produce far too many neutrons and most university-scale devices produce too few neutrons,” said Frances Kraus, X-ray spectroscopist and staff research physicist. “MURR is flexible enough to bridge this gap, making it the only known facility where our tests can be easily completed. We appreciate Mizzou and MURR's ongoing support of our work.”
