The World Nuclear University is pleased to announce the selection of the first WNU Fellows. Chosen from among 135 applicants representing 46 countries, the 75 individuals selected as 2005 WNU Fellows will participate in WNU's first Summer Institute to be held in Idaho Falls, Idaho from 9 July through 20 August 2005.

The Fellows are from 33 countries on five continents and are graduate students or employees affiliated with sixty-three different organisations. Selected from among the world's leading nuclear students and young professionals, the WNU Fellows will participate in an intense 6-week educational experience featuring some of the international community's foremost leaders in science, engineering and the environment.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has provided leadership in launching this WNU innovation by generously agreeing to help sponsor the first annual WNU Summer Institute. It will be held at the Idaho Universities' Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering in collaboration with DOE's Idaho National Laboratory (INL), the new Center for Advanced Energy Studies (CAES), and Idaho State University, Boise State University and the University of Idaho. As the designated technology development centre to spur the American nuclear renaissance, INL is the result of a recent merger of the Idaho Nuclear Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) and Argonne National Laboratory-West.

The Programme of the 2005 WNU Summer Institute is being designed at the WNU Coordinating Centre in London in cooperation with the WNU's four "Founding Supporters": the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Nuclear Energy Agency of the OECD (NEA), the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO), and the World Nuclear Association (WNA). Representatives from INL and the Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering also have contributed to the plans. Biographical information about the distinguished individuals who will serve as faculty will be made available as they are received.

Field trips are planned to the Yucca Mountain Geological Waste Repository and to the INL laboratories, where WNU Fellows will directly observe cutting-edge nuclear and nuclear-related research and development.

In addition, an international group of highly experienced faculty and industry leaders will serve as mentor coaches to the Fellows. They will support and assist WNU Fellows as they work in trans-national groups to prepare projects, address case studies and draw the various elements of the Programme into a coherent context. Moreover, volunteers from Idaho Falls and elsewhere have agreed to serve as technical consultants to the Fellows on an as needed basis.

In addition to a full schedule of interactive lecture-discussions, the Summer Institute Programme will feature a Lectures in Nuclear Leadership series that will be open to the public. These late afternoon presentations will feature such world-renowned figures as Susan Eisenhower, Senior Fellow and Director of Programs of the Eisenhower Institute; WANO Co-Founder Zack Pate; Geoffrey Ballard, pioneer and innovator of hydrogen technology fuel cell research and Founder of Ballard Power; James Lake, Associate Laboratory Director for Nuclear Research and Development Programs at the Idaho National Laboratory; Rich Hooper, architect of the Additional Protocols to the Non-Proliferation Treaty; Dimiti Perricos, past head of operations for the Iraq Action Team who led the first team into Iraq under Security Council Resolution 687 and is now Executive Director (acting) of Planning and Operations for UNMOVIC; and others to be announced. IAEA Director-General Emeritus Hans Blix who serves as Chancellor of WNU, will deliver the closing address and present diplomas at the conclusion of the Institute.

A variety of social events and recreational activities are planned to enrich the Summer Institute experience and promote the development of personal and professional relationships that will endure long after WNU Fellows return home. At the WNU Coordinating Centre in London, the Coordinators of the WNU Summer Institute are Dr Edward H Klevans and Dr Deborah R Klevans. During July and August they will move to Idaho Falls to oversee all elements of the Institute in collaboration with the Local Arrangements Committee.

Background

In addition to being posted on this website, the Announcement of the first Summer Institute was disseminated in September, 2004 - to IAEA member states, to the full array of companies comprising the global nuclear industry, to the diverse educational institutions comprising the global WNU Network, and to many individuals who have become "friends of the WNU". In mid-October, the Application instructions were similarly distributed.

The Summer Institute was conceived during a meeting of WNU stakeholders hosted by the IAEA in Vienna in June 2004. The Report of the IAEA Technical Meeting delineates the advantages of such an institute not only for the selected participants, but also for industry, government, and institutions of higher education. The report includes guidelines that helped to shape the Summer Institute's programme. As stated in the Vienna report:

The purpose of the WNU Summer Institute is to provide a unique educational experience aimed at building future global leadership in the fields of nuclear science and technology.

The Summer Institute will do so by providing, to a select group of graduate students and young professionals from throughout the world, a period of intense high-quality education designed to:

• Present cutting-edge knowledge and broad international perspective on the full range of political, environmental and social issues surrounding the peaceful application of nuclear technology;  
  
• Expose participants to the world's leading thinkers and educators in topics relevant to nuclear applications;
  
• Enable participants to experience practical teamwork, and to establish lasting bonds, with peers from many nations;
  
• Inspire participants to commit themselves to advancing the global contribution of nuclear science and technology.

Please contact us if you have any questions concerning the World Nuclear University or the WNU Summer Institute.