ITER NEWSLINE
48
Sir Chris Llewellyn Smith Retires
Sabina Griffith
Sir Chris Llewellyn Smith Retires
"It has been a tremendous pleasure working with you all, the atmosphere at Culham is fantastic."
On 5 September, Chris Llewellyn Smith, Chairman of the ITER Council, retired from his post as Director of UKAEA Culham. Since his appointment in 2003 Chris has worked tirelessly to promote fusion both within Europe and internationally. Two of Chris' many achievements, outlined by UKAEA Chief Executive Norman Harrison at the celebratory lunch, were the contribution that he made in getting Government Chief Scientist Sir David King's fusion fast track report accepted within the European community as part of the fusion programme and his election as Chairman of the ITER Council. Norman also spoke of Chris' role as an International "cheerleader" in support of fusion, a theme taken up by EFDA-JET Associate Leader Francesco Romanelli, who spoke of Chris' skill as an advocate for fusion:
"Chris as the face of European fusion acted with passion and effectiveness in presenting our field to the outside world and made many people aware of the progress made in fusion."
New Culham Director Steve Cowley described Chris as: "the proverbial hard act to follow" and wished him good luck with retirement.
Sir Chris thanked the speakers for their kind words and comments and said: "it has been a tremendous pleasure working with you all, the atmosphere at Culham is fantastic. Looking to the future you are in very good hands with Steve, I am sure he will do a terrific job."
Looking forward to Chris' own future, he will continue to have an important role in fusion both as Chairman of the ITER Council and as Chairman of the senior European committee on fusion.
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