11/2/2009 Colloquium - Jean Claude van Duysen

Jean Claude van Duysen EDF North America

Event Info

Title:  Over 50 years of electricity production from light water reactors - What material sciences have brought to these reactors

Date: Nov 2, 2009
Location: 3105 Etcheverry Hall
Time: 4-5pm

Abstract

The first light water nuclear reactor dedicated to electricity production was put into operation in Shippingport in the United States in 1957, and supplied the city of Pittsburgh. More than 50 years after this event, it is clear that this type of reactor will be a major source of electricity and one of the efficient solutions to mitigate climate change in the 21st century.

The talk will describe the role of R&D in the development of light water reactors via a few examples which benchmark the last 50 years. These examples relate to what material sciences have brought for the manufacture and operation of the most important component for the reactor safety: the pressure vessel. Each example illustrates the will and commitment of the teams who tried to open up routes of progress in areas as varied as steel making, manufacturing processes, mechanics of materials, understanding of irradiation effects, etc. Step by step, these examples set out a part of the knowledge and tools which contribute to the safety of today’s pressure vessels and/or which will help to define pressure vessels of future generations of reactors. They also show that the nuclear industry is a sector where technical solutions are systematically backed up by a very precise understanding of the involved phenomena.

Speaker Biography

Jean Claude van Duysen is the Manager of the R&D activities of Electricité de France (EDF) in the USA. He is an engineer in Material Science and graduated from the University of Lille in 1978. He has also earned two doctorate degrees, one in Fundamental Physics (1982) and the second in Metallurgy (1987) before starting his professional career with EDF.

Jean Claude held many positions while at EDF. In his early years, he held roles such as research engineer, project leader and head of the Material Studies department. In 2002, he founded and led the European Institute for Energy Research set up by EDF and Universität Karlsruhe, Germany. In 2006, he was Director of the Centre on Environment Research in Turin, Italy. Since 2008, he has worked for P. L. Viollet, the Vice-President for R&D Coordination and Partnership of EDF R&D.

Aside from his work with EDF, Jean Claude has been a Professor at the Université de Lille, France since 1993. In 2007, he founded the Global Vision Council, a non-profit organization helping Small and Medium Enterprises to innovate. He continues to hold the Chairman position for this organization.

Jean Claude is a published author, with more than 50 scientific articles in international revues. He also wrote one book on “Sustainable Development” and is currently completing a new one on the “Light Water Reactor Pressure Vessel”.