San Diego, CA, Sept. 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- General Atomics (GA) congratulates Pietro Barabaschi on his appointment as Director-General of the ITER Organization. Dr. Barabaschi’s long career as an engineer and program manager in the field of fusion energy makes him an ideal choice as ITER progresses toward first plasma later this decade.
“General Atomics is committed to the success of ITER in its pioneering path to demonstrating practical fusion energy,” said Dr. Anantha Krishnan, Senior Vice President of the General Atomics Energy Group. “We look forward to supporting Mr. Barabaschi in his new role.”
“Achieving economic fusion energy is one of the greatest challenges our world faces,” said Dr. Wayne Solomon, Vice President for Magnetic Confinement Fusion (MFE). “Leading ITER toward full operation over the next decade is a critical element of this process, and we congratulate Dr. Barabaschi for his willingness to shoulder this responsibility.”
“General Atomics is fabricating a range of key components and systems for ITER,” said John Smith, Senior Director of Engineering and Projects. “We are proud to play an integral part in the quest for fusion energy.”
“I was fortunate to work with Pietro during the ITER Engineering Design Activities phase, when he was at the San Diego Joint Work Site in the 1990s,” said Dr. David Humphreys, Director of MFE Operations and Innovation. “Not only is he well-known as a brilliant leader, he also has an enormous depth of technical expertise. He will bring an unparalleled combination of strengths to the challenge of leading ITER through the completion of assembly and into the operation phase.”
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