FPN09-10

Roberts to Head ITER Export Control Group

March 2, 2009

Mike Roberts has been named Chair of the ITER Export Control Group. The Group was established by the ITER Council in June 2008 in recognition of the need properly handle and control the dissemination of information provided to the ITER Organization by the member Parties and their Domestic Agencies. Roberts, who has been involved with ITER since its inception, when he worked for the U.S. Department of Energy, is joined in the Group by Paul-Henri Tuinder, John Glowienka, Akko Maas, Leslie Meyssonnier, and Hiroshi Matsumoto.

The Group held it first meeting the last week of February and participated in the first Export Control Awareness Training for ITER Organization Staff. They will hold their next meeting in Washington in April.

Roberts said, "The aim of the working meetings was twofold. The first aim was to look at the progress being made by the ITER Organization on export control in anticipation of the upcoming Washington meeting, and to give a sharper focus to those preparatory efforts. The second aim was to begin the process of creating awareness about export control."

"We need to understand how we identify and handle sensitive items of information, technology, and equipment that the Members will be providing to the ITER Organization as part of their Procurement Arrangements," Roberts said.