The Norman Rostoker Memorial Symposium brought together approximately 150 attendees to share their recent work and to reflect on the contributions of Norman Rostoker to the field of plasma physics and the advancement of fusion as a source of renewable clean energy. The field has changed considerably in a few short decades, with theoretical advances and technological innovations evolving in lock step. Over those same decades, our understanding of human induced climate change has also evolved; measurable changes in Earth's physical, chemical, and biological processes have already been observed, and these will likely intensify in the coming decades. Never before has the need for clean energy been more pronounced, or the need for transformative solutions more pressing. As scientists work with legislators, journalists, and the public to take actions to address the threat of climate change, there is much to be learned from the legacies of innovators like Norman Rostoker, who have tackled complex problems with scientific insight and determination even when the odds were stacked against them. I write this from the perspective on an Earth system scientist who studies photosynthesis and the biogeochemistry of the oceans, and my statements about plasma physics and Norman Rostoker are based on information I gathered from the colloquium and from many enjoyable conversations with his friends and colleagues.

The paper describes experiments on the generation and transport of a low energy (70-120 keV), high intensity (10-30 A/cm(2)) microsecond duration H+ ion beam (IB) in vacuum and plasma. The IB was generated in a magnetically insulated diode (MID) with an applied radial B field and an active hydrogen-puff ion source. The annular IB, with an initial density of j(i)similar to10-20 A/cm(2) at the anode surface, was ballistically focused to a current density in the focal plane of 50-80 A/cm(2). The postcathode collimation and transport of the converging IB were provided by the combination of a "concave" toroidal magnetic lens followed by a straight transport solenoid section. With optimized MID parameters and magnetic fields in the lens/solenoid system, the overall efficiency of IB transport at the exit of the solenoid 1 m from the anode was similar to 50% with an IB current density of 20 A/cm(2). Two-dimensional computer simulations of post-MID IB transport supported the optimization of system parameters. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.

A hot stable field-reversed configuration (FRC) has been produced in the C-2 experiment by colliding and merging two high-beta plasmoids preformed by the dynamic version of field-reversed theta-pinch technology. The merging process exhibits the highest poloidal flux amplification obtained in a magnetic confinement system (over tenfold increase). Most of the kinetic energy is converted into thermal energy with total temperature (T(i) + T(e)) exceeding 0.5 keV. The final FRC state exhibits a record FRC lifetime with flux confinement approaching classical values. These findings should have significant implications for fusion research and the physics of magnetic reconnection.