Michael C. Zarnstorff is the deputy director for Research at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, where he oversees research that ranges from testing ideas for harnessing fusion to developing rockets for space flight. His job encompasses keeping projects aligned with DOE goals and envisioning new research opportunities for PPPL. An award-winning physicist and a co-discoverer of the bootstrap current, he joined PPPL in 1984 and has been deputy director for research since 2009.