A US government official has lashed out at what he sees as the mismanagement of ITER—a multibillion dollar project to prove that controlled thermonuclear fusion can work.

Speaking at a Department of Energy (DOE) advisory committee meeting, William Brinkman, the director of the DOE’s office of science, told fusion researchers that he wanted to see the entire project’s management reformed. The international organisation responsible for ITER is too weak, Brinkman believes (and, incidentally, so do we).

“If I could get my hands on the person who proposed the current management structure I would strangle him,” Brinkman told the assembled scientists, according to Fusion Program Notes, which covers all things fusion.

He also confirmed that ITER now appeared set for a 2019 start date—ten months later than planned. We previously reported the proposed 2019 start date in a story about Europe’s efforts to reform management of its portion of the ITER project.

There does appear to be hope for reform of ITER’s overall project management. Brinkman says that an advisory committee was now looking to shake up the project, and that he expects “significant” changes following the next council meeting in June.

Credit: ITER