Richard K. Lester
Photo: Justin Knight
Michele Kearney's Nuclear Wire - Major Energy and Environmental News and Commentary affecting the Nuclear Industry. Nuclear Activities
Friday, May 19, 2017
Nuclear Energy's Immediate Fate In the U.S. Could Be Up To State Regulators
Nuclear Energy's Immediate Fate In the U.S. Could Be Up To State Regulators
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kensilverstein/2017/05/19/nuclear-energys-immediate-fate-in-the-u-s-could-be-up-to-state-regulators/#604bc0a71f9eFor great challenges, a global strategy
For great challenges, a global strategy
MIT plan outlines new framework for expanding its international engagement.
Peter Dizikes | MIT News Office
May 17, 2017
May 17, 2017
At
a time of great societal challenges worldwide, MIT has released for
comment a new plan for global engagement, outlining a framework for the
Institute’s burgeoning international activities in education, research,
innovation, and service.
The report, “A Global Strategy for MIT,” identifies core principles to help guide the Institute’s future international activities, and proposes several new initiatives to promote these activities, both on campus and around the world.
Provost Marty Schmidt, in introducing the report at a faculty forum on May 15, expressed the hope that it would stimulate discussion by the MIT community and invited comments on the report’s findings and recommendations.
“MIT’s international activities have been growing rapidly, and further growth is likely,” the report states. “The plan is designed to create a more robust and durable platform to support the international initiatives of individual faculty, while also establishing a principled framework for selecting and undertaking larger-scale activities to increase MIT’s impact in the world.”
Among its recommendations, the report calls for new efforts to cultivate and coordinate faculty- and Institute-level collaborations in different regions of the world. While MIT will likely increase its engagement in many countries, the plan specifically calls for an increased focus on China, Latin America, and Africa — places that “have been underrepresented in the MIT portfolio of activities previously and that have high potential for impactful engagement.”
Additional recommendations are designed to continue building out MIT’s distinctive “global classroom,” which already provides many opportunities for students to learn about the world through hands-on projects that solve practical problems. Another recommendation calls for a more steamlined approach to helping build new institutions and capabilities in other countries. The plan also calls for a review of the cap on international undergraduate admissions.
“Working internationally and achieving international impact are essential to achieving MIT’s mission of service to the nation and the world,” says Richard K. Lester, the associate provost of MIT who oversees international activities, and who authored the report. “Engaging internationally also strengthens our own campus in many ways,” adds Lester, who is also the Japan Steel Industry Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering.
Partners in progress
MIT already has a global character; its campus community of more than 20,000 includes about 6,500 faculty, academic staff, and students from about 150 foreign countries. About 43 percent of faculty, 43 percent of graduate students, and 65 percent of postdocs are from outside the U.S.
These figures have risen significantly within the last two decades: International students accounted for 75 percent of the increase in MIT’s graduate student population since 1998, and 80 percent of the growth in the Institute’s postdoctoral population since 2006. International sponsorship of research and other campus activities has grown threefold over the last decade, and accounted for 18 percent of all such activity at MIT in 2016.
Meanwhile, MIT faculty and students are engaged in research, education, and service projects in 75 countries. Half of graduating MIT seniors in 2016 reported having at least one international educational experience, up from 23 percent in 2006.
MIT’s orientation toward innovative solutions, exemplified by its current “Campaign for a Better World,” will continue to encourage projects in other countries, in areas including health, energy, the environment, education, and water access.
The new plan’s recommendation to strengthen MIT’s regional outreach — “MIT Partnerships for a Better World,” as the plan calls them — includes three elements.
First, the report calls for faculty working groups, organized by geographic region, to provide strategic advice and create regional action plans. Second, the plan suggests that periodic MIT summit meetings in targeted regions will help establish new programs and connections. And third, the plan calls for an expansion of international seed funds to support collaborative research and educational programs with faculty and institutions in these regions.
MIT is already a participant in high-level summits with leaders around the world. This week, MIT President L. Rafael Reif will be speaking at a forum in Saudi Arabia hosted by Khalid Al-Falih, head of the country’s Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources.
(Al-Falih also spoke at MIT in June 2016, at a meeting of university and business leaders from Massachusetts. At that event, he discussed Saudi Arabia’s “Vision 2030” project, a new policy agenda aiming to diversify the country’s economy beyond oil, to other technologies as well as services, logistics, and tourism.)
As the new report outlines, MIT’s existing programs will continue to play a central role in its global strategy. For example, the MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI) arranged almost 1,000 student internships in 30 countries in 2016 — representing a fourfold increase over the last decade. MIT’s OpenCourseWare website has received nearly 200 million visits from around the world since its launch in 2003, while 3.5 million learners, 75 percent of whom are from outside the U.S., have signed up for MITx courses since the launch of the edX platform in 2012. MIT is also continuing to develop a MicroMasters credential available to global learners in multiple fields.
The importance of MIT-style “bottom-up” enterprise
Lester emphasizes the importance of “bottom up” activities, driven by enterprising faculty and students, to the new global strategy.
“We must support and encourage and help those efforts grow,” Lester says. “But in addition, MIT sometimes seeks to act on a larger scale, in order to increase its impact. We can’t do everything and be everywhere in the world, and the new plan will help us think systematically about what we want to do, where we want to do it, and who we want to do it with.”
Finally, as the plan notes, MIT’s international activities are subject to geopolitical shifts and the possibility of “disruptive developments” around the world. Given the pace of global change, the plan states, another comprehensive strategic review should be undertaken in five years or less. But for now, Lester says, MIT’s commitment to global engagement is strengthening.
“Now is not the time to change course,” Lester says. “On the contrary, this is the time to affirm our commitment to working with others, across national borders, on the world’s most challenging problems. In a very fundamental sense, that is who we are.”
The report, “A Global Strategy for MIT,” identifies core principles to help guide the Institute’s future international activities, and proposes several new initiatives to promote these activities, both on campus and around the world.
Provost Marty Schmidt, in introducing the report at a faculty forum on May 15, expressed the hope that it would stimulate discussion by the MIT community and invited comments on the report’s findings and recommendations.
“MIT’s international activities have been growing rapidly, and further growth is likely,” the report states. “The plan is designed to create a more robust and durable platform to support the international initiatives of individual faculty, while also establishing a principled framework for selecting and undertaking larger-scale activities to increase MIT’s impact in the world.”
Among its recommendations, the report calls for new efforts to cultivate and coordinate faculty- and Institute-level collaborations in different regions of the world. While MIT will likely increase its engagement in many countries, the plan specifically calls for an increased focus on China, Latin America, and Africa — places that “have been underrepresented in the MIT portfolio of activities previously and that have high potential for impactful engagement.”
Additional recommendations are designed to continue building out MIT’s distinctive “global classroom,” which already provides many opportunities for students to learn about the world through hands-on projects that solve practical problems. Another recommendation calls for a more steamlined approach to helping build new institutions and capabilities in other countries. The plan also calls for a review of the cap on international undergraduate admissions.
“Working internationally and achieving international impact are essential to achieving MIT’s mission of service to the nation and the world,” says Richard K. Lester, the associate provost of MIT who oversees international activities, and who authored the report. “Engaging internationally also strengthens our own campus in many ways,” adds Lester, who is also the Japan Steel Industry Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering.
Partners in progress
MIT already has a global character; its campus community of more than 20,000 includes about 6,500 faculty, academic staff, and students from about 150 foreign countries. About 43 percent of faculty, 43 percent of graduate students, and 65 percent of postdocs are from outside the U.S.
These figures have risen significantly within the last two decades: International students accounted for 75 percent of the increase in MIT’s graduate student population since 1998, and 80 percent of the growth in the Institute’s postdoctoral population since 2006. International sponsorship of research and other campus activities has grown threefold over the last decade, and accounted for 18 percent of all such activity at MIT in 2016.
Meanwhile, MIT faculty and students are engaged in research, education, and service projects in 75 countries. Half of graduating MIT seniors in 2016 reported having at least one international educational experience, up from 23 percent in 2006.
MIT’s orientation toward innovative solutions, exemplified by its current “Campaign for a Better World,” will continue to encourage projects in other countries, in areas including health, energy, the environment, education, and water access.
The new plan’s recommendation to strengthen MIT’s regional outreach — “MIT Partnerships for a Better World,” as the plan calls them — includes three elements.
First, the report calls for faculty working groups, organized by geographic region, to provide strategic advice and create regional action plans. Second, the plan suggests that periodic MIT summit meetings in targeted regions will help establish new programs and connections. And third, the plan calls for an expansion of international seed funds to support collaborative research and educational programs with faculty and institutions in these regions.
MIT is already a participant in high-level summits with leaders around the world. This week, MIT President L. Rafael Reif will be speaking at a forum in Saudi Arabia hosted by Khalid Al-Falih, head of the country’s Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources.
(Al-Falih also spoke at MIT in June 2016, at a meeting of university and business leaders from Massachusetts. At that event, he discussed Saudi Arabia’s “Vision 2030” project, a new policy agenda aiming to diversify the country’s economy beyond oil, to other technologies as well as services, logistics, and tourism.)
As the new report outlines, MIT’s existing programs will continue to play a central role in its global strategy. For example, the MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI) arranged almost 1,000 student internships in 30 countries in 2016 — representing a fourfold increase over the last decade. MIT’s OpenCourseWare website has received nearly 200 million visits from around the world since its launch in 2003, while 3.5 million learners, 75 percent of whom are from outside the U.S., have signed up for MITx courses since the launch of the edX platform in 2012. MIT is also continuing to develop a MicroMasters credential available to global learners in multiple fields.
The importance of MIT-style “bottom-up” enterprise
Lester emphasizes the importance of “bottom up” activities, driven by enterprising faculty and students, to the new global strategy.
“We must support and encourage and help those efforts grow,” Lester says. “But in addition, MIT sometimes seeks to act on a larger scale, in order to increase its impact. We can’t do everything and be everywhere in the world, and the new plan will help us think systematically about what we want to do, where we want to do it, and who we want to do it with.”
Finally, as the plan notes, MIT’s international activities are subject to geopolitical shifts and the possibility of “disruptive developments” around the world. Given the pace of global change, the plan states, another comprehensive strategic review should be undertaken in five years or less. But for now, Lester says, MIT’s commitment to global engagement is strengthening.
“Now is not the time to change course,” Lester says. “On the contrary, this is the time to affirm our commitment to working with others, across national borders, on the world’s most challenging problems. In a very fundamental sense, that is who we are.”
Bulletin of Atomic Scientists Nuclear Roundup May 19, 2017
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Group Sues To Keep Rocky Flats Closed To Public Until Proven Safe
Group Sues To Keep Rocky Flats Closed To Public Until Proven Safe
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/2194822/2194822-6271046733074092036?midToken=AQGwvK6mFRmg4w&trk=eml-b2_anet_digest_weekly-group_discussions-16-grouppost%7Edisc%7E0&trkEmail=eml-b2_anet_digest_weekly-group_discussions-16-grouppost%7Edisc%7E0-null-1bdnny%7Ej2vu9dts%7Epi-null-communities%7Egroup%7Ediscussion&lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Aemail_b2_anet_digest_weekly%3BmzxpJ7ACRGK%2BfIdelGhYgg%3D%3D
Thursday, May 18, 2017
Bulletin of Atomic Scientists Nuclear Roundup May 18, 2017
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A compilation of quality nuclear policy news published on the Web, around the world.
Iran Nuclear Deal Trump keeps waiving nuclear sanctions on Iran, but imposes new penalties over missiles http://www.politico.com/story/ Iran Nuclear Deal in Play as Hard-Line Candidate Gains on President https://www.wsj.com/articles/ United States Updated View of Nuclear Weapons Is Called Vital For U.S. Security http://www.independentnews. Growing nuclear attack fears prompting action in California http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ Inside the U.S. government’s plans to survive a nuclear war https://www.washingtonpost. A predictable nuclear accident at Hanford http://thebulletin.org/ NNSA Hosts Bilateral Workshop on Radiation Measurement with Japan https://nnsa.energy.gov/ Only Option for Shielding America from North Korean Missiles https://www.thecipherbrief. International Why Do We Appease North Korea? https://www.nytimes.com/2017/ India has capability to make 2600 nuclear weapons: Pakistan http://indiatoday.intoday.in/ The town Chernobyl built: how former Soviet paradise Slavutych could save the nuclear industry http://www.wired.co.uk/ NATO and Partners to discuss Weapons of Mass Destruction Non-proliferation and Arms Control in Helsinki http://www.nato.int/cps/en/ General Interest The man who helped prevent a nuclear crisis http://www.bbc.com/news/world- WannaCry: How Did the US’s Non-Proliferation Failure Become a “Global” Cyber Security Threat? https://thewire.in/137220/ Send Jodi Lieberman items of interest for the Nuclear Roundup at brodnica67@gmail.com. Receive this message as a forward? Subscribe to the Nuclear Roundup here. |
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The Energy Collective Daily: Is the U.S. China LNG Deal Really a Win?
Is The U.S.-China LNG Deal Really A Win? | The Energy Collective Daily
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- Is The U.S.-China LNG Deal Really A Win?
- Vogtle and V.C. Summer Seek 2nd Chances to Finish Reactors
- India Time!: Energy Access and Power Sector Reform in India
- Nuclear Provisions of S. 512, Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act (NEIMA)
- Natural Gas Has Displaced Coal in the Northeast’s Generation Mix Over the Past 10 Years
IAEA mission prepares for external events safety review of Turkish nuclear power plant site
IAEA mission prepares for external events safety review of Turkish nuclear power plant site
The layout of the WWER-1200 pressurized water reactor. Four similar units are planned to be built at Akkuyu. (Image: Gidropress)
The International Atomic Energy Agency’s peer reviews help
Member States determine if they are in line with the Agency’s safety
standards, which is a set of more than 100 documents that reflect a
consensus on what is considered a high level of nuclear and radiation
safety.
For countries that are planning to build nuclear power reactors, there are several reviews that help ensure a high level of safety at different stages throughout the process. The Site and External Events Design (SEED) missions offer users support for nuclear installation site selection, site assessment, and design of structures, systems and components, taking into consideration site-specific hazards.
Countries requesting a SEED mission can select review modules to suit their specific needs. The Turkish Atomic Energy Authority (TAEK) has requested a SEED mission to primarily review matters related to design of the planned Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) against external hazards.
To prepare for the SEED mission, a team of IAEA experts held a preparatory three-day meeting in Turkey earlier this month to discuss background considerations related to site selection and evaluation, as well as to review documentation of the plant’s design elements relevant for hazards.
The upcoming SEED mission, planned for July 2017, complements other IAEA safety review services requested by TAEK, including a review of its Preliminary Safety Analysis Report and a Probabilistic Safety Assessment (Level 1). It will also follow up on actions taken following a 2015 SEED review mission on site parameters relevant to design protection of the NPP against external hazards.
“Turkey’s active engagement with the IAEA on safety-related matters helps the country ensure that it adheres to a high standard of safety as it embarks on its nuclear power project,” said Greg Rzentkowski, Director of the IAEA’s Division of Nuclear Installation Safety. “We look forward to continuing our intense cooperation as requested by Turkey.”
Mehmet Ceyhan, the Head of TAEK’s Department of Nuclear Safety, said that the upcoming SEED mission would assist TAEK as it begins to assess of the construction license application for the site’s four planned WWER-1200 units.
For countries that are planning to build nuclear power reactors, there are several reviews that help ensure a high level of safety at different stages throughout the process. The Site and External Events Design (SEED) missions offer users support for nuclear installation site selection, site assessment, and design of structures, systems and components, taking into consideration site-specific hazards.
Countries requesting a SEED mission can select review modules to suit their specific needs. The Turkish Atomic Energy Authority (TAEK) has requested a SEED mission to primarily review matters related to design of the planned Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) against external hazards.
To prepare for the SEED mission, a team of IAEA experts held a preparatory three-day meeting in Turkey earlier this month to discuss background considerations related to site selection and evaluation, as well as to review documentation of the plant’s design elements relevant for hazards.
The upcoming SEED mission, planned for July 2017, complements other IAEA safety review services requested by TAEK, including a review of its Preliminary Safety Analysis Report and a Probabilistic Safety Assessment (Level 1). It will also follow up on actions taken following a 2015 SEED review mission on site parameters relevant to design protection of the NPP against external hazards.
“Turkey’s active engagement with the IAEA on safety-related matters helps the country ensure that it adheres to a high standard of safety as it embarks on its nuclear power project,” said Greg Rzentkowski, Director of the IAEA’s Division of Nuclear Installation Safety. “We look forward to continuing our intense cooperation as requested by Turkey.”
Mehmet Ceyhan, the Head of TAEK’s Department of Nuclear Safety, said that the upcoming SEED mission would assist TAEK as it begins to assess of the construction license application for the site’s four planned WWER-1200 units.
Editor's Note
Readers: I am on business travel today, will resume posting in the evening. Thank you for your patience.
Michele Kearney
Michele Kearney
Wednesday, May 17, 2017
IAEA Director General Visits Jordan
IAEA Director General Visits Jordan
IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano congratulated the
governments involved in the creation of the SESAME multinational
scientific research centre at the opening ceremony on 16 May in Allan,
Jordan. The centre was officially inaugurated by King Abdullah II of
Jordan.
“SESAME is an excellent example of multinational high-tech collaboration, and the IAEA is proud to be your partner,” Mr Amano said. “I have no doubt that the people of this region will derive great benefits from the advanced research in the various scientific areas that will be carried out here in the coming decades.”
SESAME, the Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East, is a major international centre for scientific research in the Middle East and a joint venture that will foster scientific and technological research in areas including biology, archaeology, medical and material sciences. The IAEA has provided extensive support to train the SESAME staff, enabling them to safely commission and run the facility, as well as facilitating the networking with experts from other synchrotron facilities in the world.
Mr Amano also met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Ayman Safadi.
Her Royal Highness Princess Ghida al-Talal of Jordan, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the King Hussein Cancer Foundation, kindly guided Director General Amano in his visit to the King Hussein Cancer Center, a leading cancer hospital in the Middle East. The IAEA has provided assistance and training to support the work of the Center.
Read more about the SESAME Centre in this press release.
“SESAME is an excellent example of multinational high-tech collaboration, and the IAEA is proud to be your partner,” Mr Amano said. “I have no doubt that the people of this region will derive great benefits from the advanced research in the various scientific areas that will be carried out here in the coming decades.”
SESAME, the Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East, is a major international centre for scientific research in the Middle East and a joint venture that will foster scientific and technological research in areas including biology, archaeology, medical and material sciences. The IAEA has provided extensive support to train the SESAME staff, enabling them to safely commission and run the facility, as well as facilitating the networking with experts from other synchrotron facilities in the world.
Mr Amano also met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Ayman Safadi.
Her Royal Highness Princess Ghida al-Talal of Jordan, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the King Hussein Cancer Foundation, kindly guided Director General Amano in his visit to the King Hussein Cancer Center, a leading cancer hospital in the Middle East. The IAEA has provided assistance and training to support the work of the Center.
Read more about the SESAME Centre in this press release.
IAEA: How to Cover Liabilities From Nuclear Accidents: IAEA Workshop Promotes Adherence to International Instruments
How to Cover Liabilities From Nuclear Accidents: IAEA Workshop Promotes Adherence to International Instruments
Workshop on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage held at the
IAEA headquarters, Vienna, Austria, 8 May 2017. (Photo: D. Calma/IAEA)
Understanding the basic principles of the international
nuclear liability regime was the main objective at the sixth IAEA
Workshop on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage in Vienna last week.
“The international nuclear liability regime can be very complicated and so our workshop aims to outline the main elements of the regime and to answer any questions that Member States may have in this context,” said Peri Lynne Johnson, IAEA Director and Legal Adviser of the Office of Legal Affairs.
“The question of why adherence to a nuclear liability regime is important would seem to be obvious for nuclear power countries but the incentives are less apparent for those without,” said Julian Ludbrook, INLEX Member from New Zealand. In his presentation, Mr Ludbrook noted the risks posed to coastal States by maritime transport accidents when nuclear material is involved. Coastal States, both with and without nuclear power, therefore place value in ensuring that any such regime adequately addresses their concerns.
Participants heard presentations on the international nuclear liability regime in general, as well as presentations on the individual international instruments which constitute the regime.
“The workshop was especially important as there are an increasing number of countries developing nuclear power programs that are not currently party to the existing nuclear liability regime,” said Steve McIntosh, INLEX Chairman from Australia. “In order to encourage greater universalization of these instruments we hope to highlight their benefits and remove as much of the ambiguity as possible.”
The workshop was organized with the support of experts from the International Expert Group on Nuclear Liability (INLEX) which is an advisory body to the Director General and the Director of the Office of Legal Affairs on nuclear liability issues and consists of experts from Member States both with and without nuclear power plants.
“The international nuclear liability regime can be very complicated and so our workshop aims to outline the main elements of the regime and to answer any questions that Member States may have in this context,” said Peri Lynne Johnson, IAEA Director and Legal Adviser of the Office of Legal Affairs.
“The question of why adherence to a nuclear liability regime is important would seem to be obvious for nuclear power countries but the incentives are less apparent for those without,” said Julian Ludbrook, INLEX Member from New Zealand. In his presentation, Mr Ludbrook noted the risks posed to coastal States by maritime transport accidents when nuclear material is involved. Coastal States, both with and without nuclear power, therefore place value in ensuring that any such regime adequately addresses their concerns.
Participants heard presentations on the international nuclear liability regime in general, as well as presentations on the individual international instruments which constitute the regime.
“The workshop was especially important as there are an increasing number of countries developing nuclear power programs that are not currently party to the existing nuclear liability regime,” said Steve McIntosh, INLEX Chairman from Australia. “In order to encourage greater universalization of these instruments we hope to highlight their benefits and remove as much of the ambiguity as possible.”
The workshop was organized with the support of experts from the International Expert Group on Nuclear Liability (INLEX) which is an advisory body to the Director General and the Director of the Office of Legal Affairs on nuclear liability issues and consists of experts from Member States both with and without nuclear power plants.
EM Update May 17, 2017
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