Overall design work on ITER was completed this summer, and groundbreaking was to take place in 1998, if agreed among the U.S., European, Japanese, and Russian partners. But limited political interest, tight budgets, and questions about the design's ability to produce a self-sustaining burn have put construction plans on ice until at least 2001 (Science, 6 December 1996, p. 1600). The Grunder panel recommends, therefore, that the partners consider a cheaper ITER design as well as explore alternative approaches.

That doesn't sit well with ITER director Robert Aymar. He complains that the Grunder assessment contradicts past U.S. panels which firmly backed the design. "It's not in line with our plans at all," he says, adding that a redesign "would be damaging to the program."

For now, the Grunder report says, the United States should press Europe's JET and Japan's JT-60U to give U.S. researchers more access to these premier fusion facilities. The report also calls for DOE to provide between $10 million and $20 million to U.S. researchers for that increased collaboration.