FPN17-20

Academies Posts Provisional List of Fusion Review Panel Members

May 26, 2017

The National Academies is in the process of starting its long-awaited review of the US fusion program (see FPN17-15). The Academies is required by law to post the names of proposed review panel members "provisionally" for 20 days before they are formally appointed, in order to give the public an opportunity to comment on the makeup of the panel.The names and short bios of the 19 proposed members was posted on May 25.

The posting is at http://www8.nationalacademies.org/cp/CommitteeView.aspx?key=49872

The following explanation of the vetting process is on the above-referenced site, along with the list of proposed panel members, and a link for proviing public comment.

Viewers may communicate with the National Academies at any time over the project's duration. In addition, formal comments on the provisional appointments to a committee of the National Academies are solicited during the 20-calendar day period following the posting of the membership and, as described below, these comments will be considered before committee membership is finalized. We welcome your comments (Use the Feedback link below).

Please note that the appointments made to this committee are provisional, and changes may be made. No appointment shall be considered final until we have evaluated relevant information bearing on the committee's composition and balance. This information will include the confidential written disclosures to The National Academies by each member-designate concerning potential sources of bias and conflict of interest pertaining to his or her service on the committee; information from discussion of the committee's composition and balance that is conducted in closed session at its first meeting and again whenever its membership changes; and any public comments that we have received on the membership during the 20-calendar day formal public comment period. If additional members are appointed to this committee, an additional 20-calendar day formal public comment period will be allowed. It is through this process that we determine whether the committee contains the requisite expertise to address its task and whether the points of views of individual members are adequately balanced such that the committee as a whole can address its charge objectively.