Speaker
Lawrence Satkowiak
(INMM)
Description
Greetings everyone and welcome to Vienna! First, I want to congratulate Tero and his organizing committee for putting together such an impressive symposium and thank him for allowing me to say a few words. I have the honor of serving as the President of the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management (INMM). For those of you who aren’t familiar with the INMM, I will describe it briefly.
The INMM is the premier professional society focused on safe and secure use of Nuclear Materials and the related nuclear scientific technology and knowledge. Its international membership includes government, academia, non-governmental organizations and industry, spanning the full spectrum all the way from policy to technology. The Institute’s primary role include the promotion of research, the establishment of standards and the development of best practices, all centered around nuclear materials. It then disseminates this information through meetings, professional contacts, reports, papers, discussions, and publications.
The formal structure of the INMM includes six technical divisions:
• Facility Operation
• Materials Control and Accountability
• Nonproliferation and Arms Control
• Nuclear Security and Physical Protection
• Packaging, Transportation and Disposition
• And one most pertinent today, International Safeguards – the chair of the international safeguards division, Michael Whitaker, served on both the Organizing Committee and the Program Committee for this meeting. Thank you Michael!
In addition to the central, main INMM organization, we encourage the formation of regional, local chapters and student chapters where it makes sense to do so. Currently, there are 6 regional chapters in the United States, 11 international chapters, and 16 student chapters (both in US and around the world). I would like to note that we have a strong Vienna Chapter and give a “shout out” to its current president- Carrie Matthews.
The centerpiece of the Institute is its Annual Meeting. The INMM Annual Meeting serves as the primary forum to bring together a diverse group of nuclear material managers, domestic and international, policy and technical, governmental and non-governmental to discuss and develop best practices in nuclear security, nonproliferation, arms control, nuclear transportation, international safeguards, material accounting and control, and facility operations. This year, The 56th Annual meeting of the INMM will be held in Indian Wells, California, July 12th-16th, 2015. I encourage everyone to submit papers and/or attend.
Finally, I want to encourage everyone to take advantage of their time here, attend the technical sessions, interact with your colleagues, and, of course, enjoy the beautiful city of Vienna. Thank you.
