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Princeton Plasma Laboratory's "Science on Saturday" lecture series kicks off Jan. 10 with a new name: "The Ronald E. Hatcher Science on Saturday Lecture Series" to honor the PPPL engineer who spent about 20 years organizing the series before his death in March. (Courtesy photo)

PLAINSBORO — Before each "Science on Saturday" lecture at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, organizer Ronald E. Hatcher would start with an informal question and answer session with the speaker to warm up the crowd.

Hatcher, who hosted the series for more than 20 years, died in March. When the 2015 Science on Saturday series launches on Jan. 10, the program will be named in his honor.

"He was the heart and soul of 'Science on Saturday,'" said Andrew Zwicker, head of PPPL's Science Education Department. "Ron was responsible for finding the speakers, putting together the program and making sure there was a diversity of topics about real cutting-edge science for high school students. He hoped the students could identify themselves with the people they were hearing from."

The free series of lectures, given by scientists, engineers and researchers on subjects ranging from energy to psychology, has been a favorite among students since the program's launch about 30 years ago.

"Ron put these together year in and year out, and he would find these remarkable speakers who spoke on physics, chemistry, engineering, robotics," said Zwicker, who will carry on Hatcher's legacy as the series' host by opening the lectures with the same Q&A format. "He was an overwhelmingly wonderful guy with a great personality."

A PPPL engineer, Hatcher made important contributions to the power systems of the $94 million upgrade of the National Spherical Torus Experiment, Zwicker said.

Hatcher worked on the power supply of other experiments during his 30-year career at PPPL, including the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor. Hatcher also worked on other experiments nationally and internationally, most recently the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator in Greifswald, Germany.

“The Ronald E. Hatcher Science on Saturday Lecture Series” will run from Jan. 10 through March 14 at the lab located at 100 Stellarator Rd. off Scudders Mill Road.

The first talk by Michael Graziano, of Princeton University’s Department of Psychology, will focus on “Consciousness and the Social Brain.”

Visitors are encouraged to arrive early because the 300 seats tend to fill quickly, Zwicker said. Doors open at 8:15 a.m. with refreshments, and the series kicks off at 9:30 a.m. Registration is not required. Attendees must show photo identification at the security gate.

Throughout Hatcher's time as series host, he touched thousands of lives who visited the lab to learn more about science, Zwicker said.

"How he influenced people will never completely be measured, but he certainly brought something to this program that no one else has done before," Zwicker said. "I'm going to do my best to find the same wonderful group of speakers he did."

A schedule is available on the laboratory's website.

The lecture series can also be watched live from home. For more information, visit www.pppl.gov.

Nicole Mulvaney may be reached at nmulvaney@njtimes.com. Follow her on Twitter @NicoleMulvaney. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.