WIN HONOURED FOR CONTRIBUTION TO PUBLIC EDUCATION AND SCIENCE

At a ceremony held on 8 September 2005 at its 30th Annual Symposium, the WNA (World Nuclear Association) presented its annual Award for Distinguished Contribution to the Peaceful Use of Nuclear Technology to WIN. The Award was accepted on behalf of WIN by WIN-Global president Junko Ogawa from Japan. In her speech, Ms Ogawa paid tribute to the efforts of all WIN members, and in particular those of the founders of WIN and its three previous presidents – Irene Aegerter of Switzerland, Agneta Rising of Sweden and Annick Carnino of France.


The WNA Award

WIN joins an illustrious list of individuals and institutions who have won the WNA Award. In 2002, the Award was given to WANO, which serves the vital role of ensuring operational safety in the global nuclear industry. Two years ago, the Award was presented to an idea – the “Atoms for Peace” vision of President Eisenhower; 3 institutions which embody that idea were honoured: the Eisenhower Institute, the IAEA and the World Nuclear University. In 2004, the award went to Spain’s Loyola Palacio for her strong leadership as Energy Commissioner in the European Union.


A worthy WiNner
Introducing the ceremony, WNA Chairman Jose Gonzalez praised WIN’s success in promoting the role of women in a diversity of nuclear professions and helping to increase public understanding of the benefits of nuclear science and technology. Following him to the podium, Agneta Rising, former president of WIN, explained the origins of the organisation identifying a round table discussion about women and nuclear energy held at a meeting of PIME in 1989 as the catalyst. She went on to emphasise the important part WIN must continue to play in overcoming the concerns of women, who are more likely to be sceptical about nuclear than men. Echoing this idea, Junko Ogawa underlined WIN’s important contribution to bridging the gap between the public and nuclear professions, between nuclear specialities and between countries.


Speeches of Agneta Rising and Junko Ogawa


17 Individual Awards

In honouring WIN, the WNA felt that it could bring greater meaning to its ceremony by recognising a number of individual women who have demonstrated excellence and leadership in the nuclear domain. Membership of WIN was not a criterion for selection; the WNA leadership did, however, select eminent women representing a diverse range of professions and nationalities. Introducing this part of the ceremony WNA Director General John Ritch underlined the importance of the awardees as role models: “First, their attainments present an encouraging message for young women considering the nuclear professions. Second, they represent and instructive message to managers in our industry. The message to managers is particularly significant. For a rapidly expanding global industry, a diversified work force is not just a moral and legal obligation; it is also a sound business objective.”

Six WIN members were amongst those presented with individual awards at the ceremony:
• Dr Constancia Pagano from Brazil is director of the Radiopharmacy Centre at the Nuclear and Energy Research Institute in Sao Paolo. She is a noted expert on the production and quality control of radiopharmaceuticals and the application of radioisotopes in medicine.

Dr Pagano's acceptance speech.

• Ms Xuehong Liu from China is general manager of China Zhongyuan Engineering Corporation. For nearly 30 years she has been a key figure in a civil nuclear energy establishment that today occupies a central role in China’s strategic development plans.

• Ms Junko Ogawa from Japan is a top public relations executive at the Japan Atomic Power Company. She has a distinguished record of 30 years as a professional communicator within and for the nuclear industry.

• Dr Byung Joo Min from South Korea is director of the Nuclear Training Centre at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute and is the first woman to head a nuclear establishment in Korea.

Dr Min's acceptance speech.

• Dr Sue Ion from the UK is director of technology at British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL). She is a widely recognised leader internationally and serves on the panel that advises Britain’s Prime Minister on science and technology.

Dr Ion's acceptance speech


The other individual awardees were:

• Dr Dana Drabova (Czech Republic) As head of the Czech nuclear regulatory authority, she has played a leading role in ensuring safety and building public confidence in this key Central European nation’s expanding nuclear power programme.

• Dr Laila Fikri Fouad (Egypt) As the Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority’s head of training and international cooperation, she is one of the Africa-Middle East region’s foremost experts on nuclear instrumentation and medical equipment.

• Dr Anne Flury-Herard (France) Now director of the Life Sciences division at the French Atomic Energy Commission, she is a widely recognised expert in translating the results of biological research into applications for radiological protection.

• Dr Gabriele Voigt (Germany) As head of the IAEA’s Seibersdorf Laboratory, she leads a staff of 180 that serves as this key UN agency’s research and analysis arm, while conducting programmes on human health, water resources, food and agriculture, and scientific training for developing countries.

• Dr Alum dela Rosa (Philippines) As director of the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute, she is a noted expert in irradiation techniques for valuable purposes ranging from food preservation to the modification of natural polymers to vulcanise rubber.

• Ludmila Zalimskaya (Russia) As deputy head of TENEX, Russia’s major exporter of nuclear fuel products, she has helped implement the Russia-US “Megatonnes to Megawatts” programme, which converts weapons-usable uranium to nuclear fuel for power reactors. (A full 10% of US electricity is now generated from former Soviet warheads.)

• Dr Salimata Wade (Senegal) As a professor of physiology and human nutrition, Dr Wade has, through her research using isotope tracers, made a major contribution to community nutrition programmes in rural areas throughout Africa.

• Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka (South Africa) As her nation’s energy minister and now as its Deputy President, she has advanced the role of women in science and engineering and spurred development of the small Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR), an innovation that may hold enormous worldwide significance.

• Dr Anita Nilsson (Sweden) As head of the IAEA’s office of nuclear security, she directs the key international programme aimed at protecting nuclear and other radioactive materials from seizure and misuse by terrorists.

• Ms Marilyn Kray (US) As a reactor engineer and now president of NuStart, she heads the consortium of major U.S. nuclear operators that is developing and executing strategy for a full-scale revitalisation of the American nuclear power industry.

And the ceremony ended with the award to Anne Lauvergeon, Head of the Areva Group, the world-leading provider of nuclear equipment, fuel and services, and Agneta Rising, the WNA’s first chairman, who played a key role in the creation and growth of Women-in-Nuclear as a world organisation.