In October the DECOVALEX-2015 project (DEvelopment of COupled models and their VALidation against EXperiments) held its final workshop in Japan, hosted by JAEA in Wakkanai and the Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory.
In addition to concluding the successful modelling and data interpretation work across a diverse range of challenging technical areas related to research in radioactive waste disposal, preparations are underway for the next phase of the project; DECOVALEX-2019. Up to seven exciting research tasks are planned, supported by a broad cross-section of international waste management companies, regulators and research organisations.
A major change to the planned ongoing project is to two of the key management positions. Jens Birkholzer (centre, right) of LBNL will be taking over as Chairman from John Hudson (right) of Imperial College, London after 8 years in the post. Alex Bond (centre, left) of Quintessa will be taking up the role of Technical Secretary from Lanru Jing (left) of KTH - a founder member of DECOVALEX in 1992. Jens and Alex expect to build on the excellent work of their predecessors and look forward to continuing the important work conducted by DECOVALEX.
