Inauguration of KAERI’s 22th President, Dr. Han Gyu JOO

On December 14, 2022, the inauguration ceremony for the 22th president of KAERI was held with KAERI staff member and many guests staff in attendance, including former Presidents of KAERI. Dr. Han Gyu Joo, the newly appointed president, has a wealth of professional career experience in the fields of reactor neutron transport, reactor kinetics and computational reactor physics, and neutronics-thermal/hydraulics. 

He graduated from Seoul National University with a B.S. degree and a MS degree in Nuclear Engineering in 1984 and 1986, respectively, and attained a Ph. D. degree in Nuclear Engineering from Purdue University, USA, in 1996.

After obtaining a MS degree, he entered KAERI in 1986 and had worked for KAERI as a researcher to a principal researcher from 1986 to 2004, except for the 4-year (1993-1997) period of pursuing a Ph. D degree and working as a postdoctoral researcher at Purdue University. From August 2004 to December 2002, he was a professor of Seoul National University's Nuclear Engineering Department. He is currently serving as Executive Vice-President of the Korean Nuclear Society (KNS), Member of Nuclear Energy Export Strategy Committee and Member of the National Academy of Engineers of Korea. 

In his inaugural address, he unveiled his vision to lead KAERI for 3-year term. 

- KAERI to become a world-leading research institute to spearhead the future of carbon neutrality through nuclear energy focusing on export of SMART and development of i-SMR and facilitating the development of advanced reactors

- KAERI to contribute toward strengthening national energy security through conducting continuous research on improving nuclear safety 

- KAERI to become a cradle for development of nuclear and proton utilization technologies through expanded utilization large-scale facilities such as HANARO, proton accelerator and radiation irradiation facilities as well as fostering radiation application technology