The Nuclear Institute has today announced the appointment of Neil Thomson of EDF Energy Generation to the NI Board of Trustees as Vice President.
Neil has 35 years of power generation experience holding senior technical and operational positions including plant management, Chief Engineer, Director and CEO roles and a Directorship of the Institute of Non Destructive Testing.
He said: "I am delighted and honoured to take up the Vice President and Trustee role within the Nuclear Institute. The UK Nuclear Industry faces a significant skills challenge with the retirement of a large proportion of our Nuclear Professionals and the increasing demand for their skills in future new nuclear build, plant life extension and decommissioning programmes. “
"I am looking forward to working with the Nuclear Institute to ensure it plays a key leadership role in creating a UK nuclear skills base that will underpin a vibrant, exciting and growing nuclear industry in the UK."
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Neil Thomson, Vice President of the Nuclear Institute
Neil joins eleven existing trustees with a collective wealth of knowledge and expertise from across the nuclear industry.
Tim Chittenden, President of the NI, commented: "We welcome Neil to the board of trustees where we are certain that his wealth of experience and excellent contacts will help lead the Nuclear Institute to continued growth, increasing its influence in the sector and further improving the quality of support to members"
Neil has recently taken on the post of Senior Technical Advisor in EDF Energy Generation after spending 7 Years as Head of Research and Development and Head of Engineering.
His recent focus has been the development of R&D programmes that underpin the life extension of the UK’s Advanced Gas Cooled Reactor Fleet. These programmes cover technical work and skills development involving industry, academia and government. His new role involves advising EDF-Energy on strategic policy matters covering the generation fleet.
He graduated from Durham University with a First Class Honours Degree in Physics and the Chalmers Memorial Prize in Physics. He subsequently joined the Central Electricity Generating Board as a Research Officer specialising in the development of inspection techniques for AGR and PWR plant.
He is a Fellow of the Institute of Physics, Fellow of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers and is a member of the government Nuclear Innovation Research Advisory Board (NIRAB), NDA Research Advisory Board and Co-Chairs the National Waste Research Forum.