Plasma Science Committee. Final progress report, July 15, 1994 - December 31, 1997

Organized in 1988 as a standing activity of the National Research Council (NRC), the PLSC [Plasma Science Committee] is charged with monitoring the continuing health and development of plasma science in the United States. Its goals are to identify the needs of the plasma science community, make recommendations about those needs, and provide guidance about existing research programs in plasma science. Its operating guidelines include the following tasks: (1) to provide a continuing forum for the discussion of problems in the field of plasma science; (2) to initiate, develop, and oversee special studies focused on high-priority topics; (3) to maintain a broad and unified definition of plasma science as a field; (4) to maintain a clear and comprehensive formulation of current plasma science policy issues and give guidance to decisionmakers in universities, nonprofit research centers, and government agencies; (5) to promote coordination among institutions involved in plasma science; (6) to make recommendations aimed at plasma science education; (7) to monitor the plasma-related industrial technological base; and (8) to sponsor workshops and symposia as a means of communication among different branches of the field. During this reporting period, the PLSC was involved with two major projects: a decadal assessment of the field as a whole, conducted by the Panel on Opportunities in Plasma Science and Technology (OPST), and a study of data needs in the modeling and simulation of plasma processing of materials, conducted by the Panel on Database Needs in Plasma Processing