Derek Robinson

Derek Charles Robinson FRS (27 May 1941 – 2 December 2002) was a physicist who worked in the UK fusion power programme for most of his professional career. Studying turbulence in the UK's ZETA reactor, he helped develop the reversed field pinch concept, an area of study to this day. He is best known for his role in taking a critical measurement on the T-3 device in the USSR in 1969 that established the tokamak as the primary magnetic fusion energy device to this day. He was also instrumental in the development of the spherical tokamak design though the construction of the START device, and its follow-on, MAST. Robinson was in charge of portions of the UK Atomic Energy Authority's fusion programme from 1979 until he took over the entire programme in 1996 before his death in 2002.

Early years Robinson was born in Douglas on the Isle of Man. As his father was in the Royal Air Force, Robinson often moved and spent an average of eighteen months at any one primary school. At secondary school he shone at science and mathematics and decided to follow a career in physics. His love of church and particularly organ music also stemmed from this period, when he sang in his local church choir.

He entered the Victoria University of Manchester and graduated as the top-of-the-year student in physics. He was taken on to complete his PhD in Physics under the direction of Sam Edwards.

When the numbers from the latest T-3 reactor were announced at the meeting - plasma temperatures of 10 million degrees, confinement times over 10 milliseconds and clear signs of fusion - the fusion community was stunned. The machines were at least an order of magnitude better than anyone else's device, including ones of much greater size and theoretical performance. The question then became whether or not the results were real, and scepticism abounded.

COMPASS and STs On his return to the UK in 1970, Robinson moved to the UKAEA laboratory in Culham, which was gathering together the previously spread-out fusion efforts. He led the effort to build the UK's own tokamak, COMPASS. but were unable to secure funding to build the machine.

Robinson was able to secure £10 million, enough to build the vacuum chamber and most of the support equipment. Other equipment, including a neutral beam injector, were "loaned" from ORLN to keep to the budget. The machine, START, went into operation in 1991 and immediately turned in results that met or beat practically every other machine in the world, including ones that cost many times more. START's success led to similar machines around the world, including Culham's own MAST.

JET and UKAEA directorship In 1990 Robinson was appointed UK member to the Joint European Torus (JET) project, after Culham was selected as the site for its construction. Six years later he was appointed a member of its board. He was elected fellow of the Royal Society in 1994, and became fusion director at UKAEA in 1996. Robinson, who was a fellow of the Institute of Physics, was also actively involved in the design of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). He was survived by his wife Marion and daughter Nicola.