European Nuclear Society
e-news Issue 49 Autumn 2015
http://www.euronuclear.org/e-news/e-news-49/Nuclear-2015.htm

NUCLEAR 2015, the 8^th Annual International Conference on Sustainable Development through Nuclear Research and Education, May, 27-29, Pitesti, Romania

The annual international conference NUCLEAR 2015, held in May in Pitesti, Romania, aimed to:

• promote nuclear energy as part of the energy mix, contributing to a secure energy supply and reducing greenhouse gas emissions;

• bridge research and academia in this field;

• acquire the political support for priority nuclear projects;

• increase the visibility of nuclear research developed in this region and enhance collaboration.

The conference organized and hosted by the Institute for Nuclear Research (INR) Pitesti gathered more than 200 participants representing the entire spectrum of actors involved in nuclear energy in Romania, the EU and abroad. Each year, at the end of May, INR becomes the meeting point for international scientists and specialists from top organizations in the nuclear field, representatives of the IAEA, European Commission and Technological Platforms, important actors of European nuclear industry and academia, as well as local and national politicians.

Through the last seven meetings, the conference closely followed the top priorities and challenges of nuclear energy, contributing to constructive dialogue and information exchange between key actors in the decision making process, research, industry and academic communities.

The 8th edition of the conference contributed to a better knowledge and understanding of the European Commission policies in research, and to a wider dissemination of the visions and research agendas shaped by the Technological Platforms, playing a role in the constant increase of cooperation among the research centers in the Central and Eastern region and their participation in Euratom Framework Programmes.

The Conference contributed to building relationships between the nuclear research community and academia, opening up dialogue on the research challenges and on the special job requirements for the field of nuclear energy. The 2015 conference gathered over 100 contributions, including lectures provided by key speakers on the most important topics of nuclear energy.

NUCLEAR 2015 gave particular importance to the European efforts dedicated to the new generation of nuclear reactors, with a particular focus on lead-cooled fast reactor (LFR) technology, the preparation of the national R&D programmes for Horizon 2020 research in nuclear energy, and participation in European Joint Programming.

© European Nuclear Society, 2015