Access to the DIII-D research program is open but requires sponsorship. As allowed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science and other relevant federal policies, individuals may only become users through a participating organization or an active federal funding award—you cannot self-enroll. All interested organizations, including universities, research institutions, and private-sector companies, can join through a User Agreement, which gives their researchers access to unpublished data and upcoming research projects.

Individuals who are awarded research funds by the U.S. government are able to become users, as they are automatically sponsored by the funding agency.

• Obtaining Cyber Access and Establishing Projects (required for all users) 
  • Starting a New Research Project at DIII-D
  • Joining an Existing Research Project (Students, New Staff, Industry, and Other Collaborators)
  • Adding a New Research Project (Statement of Work) Under an Existing Funding Source (Existing Users Only)
• Physical Site Access for Users
• Record of Discussion

All users join the program with the intent to engage in collaborative research projects. Researchers from universities, national laboratories, private companies, and other organizations follow the same process outlined below.

1. Assess the Ability of the DIII-D National Fusion Facility to Support Your Proposed Research 

The initial step involves assessing whether the DIII-D facility’s capabilities and goals align with the proposed research.   

1. Researchers should review the Capabilities and Tools for Plasma Science Research page to understand how DIII-D’s flexible capabilities can support their work. 
2. Review the DIII-D Research page to learn about DIII-D’s research division organization and goals. 

2. Develop a Research Project through Consultation with the Research Area Leaders 

1. Contact the relevant topical area leader through our Contact Us form to discuss the proposed work and determine how it fits within DIII-D’s research structure. Our current topical groups are: 
   • Sustaining Burning Plasmas
   • Exhaust Handling
   • Plasma Material Interactions
   • Control Damaging Transients
   • Theory & Simulation Validation
2. Establish your research project by submitting the Project Information form.

3. Establish a Qualified Funding Source via an Institutional User Agreement 

If your research is funded by the DOE Office of Science, Fusion Energy Sciences (FES): 

The FES program establishes the User Agreement automatically when you accept your award. To access unpublished DIII-D data, you must join through a participating organization already bound by the FES institutional agreement.

If your research is funded by any other source, including privately funded research: 

You will need a separate institutional User Agreement between your organization and General Atomics. DIII-D provides templates covering liability, indemnification, intellectual property, data rights, and financial matters. Learn more. 

4. Becoming a DIII-D User 

Once a research project is established, researchers from participating organizations, including private companies, follow the same DIII-D user onboarding process:

1. A General Atomics (GA) Host will be assigned to support your onboarding and access to DIII-D.
2. The GA Host will discuss the scope of work and determine the applicable systems and safety training required for your participation.
3. The Project Lead will automatically receive an email with the application form and a request to review the information for the new research project (also known as a Statement of Work) and create their DIII-D account (if they are not already a user).
4. Once the Project Lead has completed setting up their DIII-D account, they can add additional personnel to the project. Each added member will receive an email invitation with instructions to create their DIII-D account.
   1. Project Leads can find a step-by-step guide to adding members to their project here🔒.
5. After your access has been initiated, visit the Onboarding page and follow the steps to begin activities at DIII-D.
6. If you are planning to visit or be stationed at DIII-D, please see the Physical Site Access for Users section below.

This is the primary path for new users to join the program. In this process, you are joining a research project (also known as a Statement of Work, or SoW) that already exists at DIII-D. For example, you might be a student, new staff researcher, industry researcher, or other collaborator joining an existing research project. Each DIII-D Statement of Work has a Project Lead who is able to add personnel to their project.

Note: You cannot self-enroll. Your Project Lead must initiate this process by adding you to the Statement of Work. Once added, you will automatically receive an email invitation.

A project (Statement of Work) is distinguished by the funding source that supports researchers who contribute to the project. The same research activities must exist as a unique project under each applicable funding source. If a Project Lead is adding you to a SoW, your contributions to that SoW must be supported by the same funding source as the Project Lead. See additional guidance here.

Project Leads can find a step-by-step guide to adding members to their project here 🔒.

The Project Lead represents the leader for that activity as performed at DIII-D. The Project Lead is not necessarily a Principal Investigator (PI) or Co-PI on a particular funding award.

1. Join the Statement of Work

Your Project Lead must add you to the Statement of Work. Once this is done, you will automatically receive an invitation to confirm your information and join the program.

The Project Lead will need the following information from you:

• First name 
• Last name
• Institutional email address
• Institution name
• ORCID iD (If you do not have an ORCID iD, you will need to obtain one at ORCID.org)

2. Complete Your Onboarding

After your access has been initiated, visit the Onboarding page and follow the steps to begin activities at DIII-D.

3. Physical Site Access

If you are planning to visit or be stationed at DIII-D, please see the Physical Site Access for Users section below.

Existing DIII-D users can establish a new research project (Statement of Work) under an approved funding source by submitting the Project Information form. 

Please note: The Project Information form is also used by prospective users and does not automatically populate your existing DIII-D account information. You will need to enter your information directly in the form. 

All users planning to visit or to be stationed on site permanently must complete the Access Request process to obtain a badge, which is required for physical access to the DIII-D National Fusion Facility. Please fill out the DIII-D Visitor form, available on the Badges page 🔒.

U.S. citizens* must submit their access request at least two weeks before arrival. 

Foreign nationals: Please allow at least two months for the access process. Federal review and approval are required before arrival at DIII-D. Access requests must be submitted at least two months in advance, and requests submitted less than two months before arrival may result in denied access. Please plan accordingly and review the Entry Requirements for Foreign Nationals 🔒 early in your planning. 

For information about visas, invitation letters, and entry requirements for foreign nationals, visit the DIII-D Visitors page.

Individuals interested in touring DIII-D who are not research users can find information on the Touring the DIII-D National Fusion Facility. 

*A U.S. citizen is an individual who is a citizen of the United States by law, birth, or naturalization. 

The Record of Discussion (ROD) is a coordination document—not a merit review—that helps applicants prepare a proposal consistent with the capabilities and plans of the DIII-D Program and provides advance notice to the Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) program within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science regarding the potential resources required to support the proposed research. 

Applicants submitting proposals that involve research activities at DIII-D must complete an ROD. While not all funding opportunities require the ROD to be submitted with the application, the DIII-D Program must have a completed ROD for coordination with the FES program. 

Applicants are encouraged to engage with DIII-D as early as possible, ideally as soon as they have a summary proposal. For proposals that have a pre-application, the formal DIII-D response will be prepared after the applicant receives encouragement to submit a full proposal. 

Early engagement is important to ensure the ROD can be completed by the relevant due date, particularly for funding opportunities that require it to be submitted with the application. 

The steps in the ROD process are: 

1. Download the ROD form (link in the right menu) to familiarize yourself with the information required. 
2. Reach out through the Contact Us form and select Record of Discussion to be matched with a DIII-D Program research contact.
3. After discussions with your research contact, the ROD will be reviewed and signed by the individuals listed on the form. Please allow sufficient time for the review and signature process to ensure the ROD is completed by the relevant due date.