Korea.net Sep 04, 2015
Lee Gyung-su, former chairman of the National Fusion Research Institute, has been appointed chief operating officer of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor Organization (ITER).
ITER is a large-scale scientific experiment that aims to demonstrate the technological and scientific feasibility of fusion energy. Countries such as the U.S., Russia, the European Union, Japan, China, India and Korea have all participated in the experiment. As part of the project, ITER has been building a EUR 7.91 billion reactor in Cadarache, France, since 2007. Korea has been an active member of ITER and completed the supply of superconductors to be used as components in the reactor last December. This is a first for ITER.
As COO, Lee Gyung-su will oversee technological aspects of the ITER reactor ranging from design, construction and installation to testing, trial runs and systems management. Lee has devoted himself to nuclear fusion research over the past 30 years and has led the construction of the Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR) center. He served as chairman of the National Fusion Research Institute from 2008 to 2011, as chair of the ITER Council’s Management Advisory Committee from 2010 to 2011 and as vice chair of the ITER Council from 2014 to today.
“Lee Gyung-su is highly proficient in project management and nuclear fusion technology and will contribute much to the ITER project,” said ITER Director-General Bernard Bigot.
By Limb Jae-un
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photo courtesy of the National Fusion Research Institute
jun2@korea.kr