ENC 2007: Inspire yourself and others

From 16-20 September, the European Nuclear Conference 2007 (ENC2007) took place at the VUB (Vrije Universiteit Brussel), in Brussels. ENC2007 is a biannual European Nuclear Society (ENS) event - the largest international conference of its kind on the European event calendar. It provided a platform for the nuclear science community to share their experiences, to learn about the latest developments going on in nuclear research and their practical applications and to exploit synergy among scientists, industry representatives, policy-makers and citizens on wider societal issues that impact upon how the nuclear science community carries out its work.

ENC2007 was organised in co-operation with the Belgian Nuclear Society, the IAEA and OECD/NEA, and with the support of the American Nuclear Society (ANS) and the VUB. Among the sponsors were Suez, AREVA and Westinghouse. The conference was co-chaired by the Conference Chairman, Marcel Maris (VUB), and by Frank Deconinck (ENS President).

A total of 700 delegates from 37 countries, including Korea, China, Japan and the US, gave ENC2007 not just a European but a truly global focus. The fact that the delegates represented many varied stakeholder groupings reflected the conference’s multidisciplinary approach. In addition, there were 30 stands representing 67 companies and research institutes at the ENC2007 exhibition. Exhibitors displayed their latest research data, promoted their scientific programmes and networked with delegates and visitors.

The ENC2007 conference programme was built around a number of plenary keynote sessions, panel debates and highly-focused topical workshops. Among the subjects covered during the plenary sessions were The Politics of Science and Technology, Business and Institutions’ View on Science and R&D, The Human Factor in Risk Governance, The Politics of Sustainable Development and The Benefits, Costs and Hurts of Nuclear Medicine. Among the keynote plenary speakers at ENC2007 were Roland Schenkel, Director General of the JRC; Luis Echavarri, Director General of OECD/NEA and Alain Bucaille, Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation, AREVA.

The topical workshops covered a large range of technical subjects, including new reactor and energy technologies, the nuclear fuel cycle (including waste, transport, dismantling and partitioning & transmutation), nuclear operations, medical applications, education and training and socio-economic, political and ethical issues. On the final day of the conference delegates had a choice of three technical tours to take part in: SCK-CEN’s research centre at Mol, Tihange NPP and the IBA (Ion Beam Application S.A.) facilities at Louvain-la-Neuve.

To get more information about the programme, the speakers and the abstracts visit the ENC2007 website at: www.enc2007.org (under “transaction”).