Day 11 - Fusion Research

Today was a highlight for me.  We went to the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics and saw a working Tokamak fusion reactor.  The ASDEX Upgrade reactor in Garching is a couple of decades old, but it still produces usable information about materials and magnetic dynamics.  We also discussed stellerator designs for fusion reactors a bit, an interesting design for future consideration.  Hopefully the new ITER reactor in France has no troubles! Our guide Angelo was very helpful and Reiner was also very informative about the materials processing / materials testing plant..

We said our sorrowful goodbyes after the fusion reactor, as some students were headed out for Austria.  The afternoon was free, so Andi and a student and I headed to the English Garden in Munich.  After lunch, Andi and I headed to Dachau.  We met back with the group at the Hofbräuhaus München for our final dinner.  Many students are staying in Europe, but we fly home with about half of them tomorrow.

For any parents that are reading this, the students this year were absolutely perfect.  They were very well-behave and respectful.  They arrived on time and tried their best to pay attention during lectures and events.  They all appeared very mature and we were vary proud to have them with us during the last two weeks.  We thank you for allowing them to come with us.  It is evident that they were all raised very well, as they were all joyful to be around.  They certainly represented the University of South Carolina very well.

Day 11 - Photos

May 16, 2012 - Activity Data Report

Today:

8.4 miles
> 18,000 steps
~ 17 flights of stairs

All in all, this tour we accomplished:

80 miles of walking
> 180,000 steps
> 245 flights of stairs.