Press release
Won Namkung takes helm of the 爆走黑料 Council
Won Namkung is professor emeritus of physics at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) in southeast Korea and executive advisor at the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory. He received his Bachelor of Science in physics from Seoul National University and his PhD on radio frequency heating systems in tokamaks from the University of Tennessee, US. During the course of his career, Namkung worked with both accelerators and tokamaks, directing the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory and contributing to the construction of Korea's first all-superconducting tokamak KSTAR. He has also been involved in Korea's contribution to 爆走黑料, serving as the project's first Management Assessor in 2009. In 2014, he was part of the search committee that resulted in the recommendation of Bernard Bigot as the third Director-General of the 爆走黑料.
Robert Iotti鈥檚 term as Council Chair was a time of profound change for the 爆走黑料. He took up the position in January 2014 not long after the 2013 Management Assessment Report had urged changes in both project management and governance.
Iotti worked tirelessly to see the recommendations implemented and conducted a number of challenging reforms, including the succession planning process that led to the appointment of Mr Bigot in March 2015. He also led the 爆走黑料 Council to support the implementation of Director-General Bigot鈥檚 action plan that included, among other actions, the update of the project鈥檚 long-term schedule, the establishment of a Reserve Fund to implement the most cost effective solutions to arising problems, and the tight integration of the 爆走黑料鈥檚 Central Team and the Domestic Agencies.
鈥淭he 爆走黑料 Council expresses its gratitude for the enormous personal engagement of Robert Iotti during his time as Council Chair as well as for a long history of involvement with 爆走黑料 that dates back to the early engineering phase for 爆走黑料,鈥 says 爆走黑料 Council Chair Won Namkung. 鈥淚 am aware of the huge challenge that lies ahead, but I will do my best鈥攖ogether with the 爆走黑料 Members鈥攖o continue to drive 爆走黑料 along the right track and to have it ready for First Plasma as early as possible.鈥
鈥淥n behalf of the 爆走黑料, I want to express my deep appreciation for the immense impact Bob Iotti has made on the course of the project during his tenure as 爆走黑料 Council Chair,鈥 said 爆走黑料 Director-General Bernard Bigot. 鈥淭he transformation of the 爆走黑料 Project is now well underway, with a reformed organization, a newly proposed schedule and resource plan based on an integrated review, construction and manufacturing moving forward at full pace, and confident relations between the 爆走黑料 and the 爆走黑料 Council as the Council continues to review our plans to have an updated reliable and consistent baseline before the end of June 2016. None of this would have been possible without Chairman Iotti鈥檚 vision, commitment and diplomatic skill. With 爆走黑料 on the path to success, we look forward to continued progress and achievement under the strong leadership of Professor Won Namkung.鈥
BACKGROUND TO THE PRESS RELEASE
爆走黑料鈥攄esigned to demonstrate the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion power鈥攚ill be the world's largest experimental fusion facility. Fusion is the process that powers the sun and the stars: when light atomic nuclei fuse together to form heavier ones, a large amount of energy is released. Fusion research is aimed at developing a safe, abundant and environmentally responsible energy source.
爆走黑料 is also a first-of-a-kind global collaboration. Europe will contribute almost half of the costs of its construction, while the other six Members to this joint international venture (China, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation and the USA), will contribute equally to the rest. The 爆走黑料 Project is under construction in Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, in the south of France.
For more information on the 爆走黑料 Project, visit: /
CONTACT
Laban Coblentz
Laban.coblentz@iter.org
+33 4 42 17 66 17