Volume 7, Number 2
December 2009

Inside Insights

By Scott Vance INMM Vice President E-mail:savance@tva.gov

It is once again my privilege to update you on the recent activities of the Executive Committee. Before I do, however, I want to remind you of several important dates and activities.

First, you should have renewed your membership by now. If you have not done so, remember that you will no longer receive member-only mailings and notifications after the first of the year. Please submit your renewal now if you have not done so.

Believe it or not, it's also time to begin submitting your papers for the 2010 Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland. If you plan to participate in the meeting, make yourself aware of the important deadlines regarding paper submission, which can be found on the INMM Web site (www.inmm.org). The Technical Program Meeting, scheduled for March 2010, will be here soon, and all abstracts must be submitted by February 1 to be considered for inclusion in the 2010 program.

The INMM Executive Committee met during the first week of December at the site of the 2011 Annual Meeting, the Marriott Palm Desert Resort. In addition to accomplishing the necessary business of the Institute, the EC was also able to tour this facility. This promises to be a great location for our 2011 meeting.

During the meeting, the EC was able to once again pass a budget for our next fiscal year. The 2010 budget reflects the EC's belief that interest in the activities and mission of INMM will remain strong.

The EC had the pleasure of welcoming two new Technical Division chairs and a new Standing Committee chair. With Chris Pickett's election to the office of Institute Secretary, Cary Crawford has assumed the chair of the Materials Control and Accountability Technical Division. After a brief absence of a Waste Management Technical Division chair following the retirement of Ed Johnson, John Veilleux has assumed this role. And, following the retirement of Yvonne Ferris from her role as chair of the Awards Committee, Nancy Jo Nicholas has assumed this role. The EC congratulates all of these new chairs and looks forward to their active participation on the EC.

Several measures were considered by the EC that will serve to strengthen INMM's presence in the international nuclear materials management community.

The Physical Protection Technical Division brought a proposal to the EC for the addition of a Nuclear Infrastructure Security topical area within the division. This new topical area will provide a venue for an even more inclusive look at nuclear facility protection. It will focus on nuclear security more comprehensively to include the counterterrorism and sabotage to power transmission and distribution systems that support nuclear reactors, protection of safety systems from sabotage, and possibly include work on developing and maintaining human reliability programs. Mr. John Yuan-Heng, Taiwan Power, has cordially agreed to form a Standing Committee on Nuclear Infrastructure Security within the Physical Protection Division. The EC welcomes this addition and congratulates the Physical Protection Division for identifying ways to ensure that INMM continues to be involved in all aspects of nuclear materials management.

The EC also took some important steps forward in a completely different area, education and outreach. Anyone who has been following INMM for any amount of time knows that the development of the "next generation" of nuclear materials management professionals is a primary concern of the Institute. With this in mind, the EC decided to team with ESARDA to form a working group to specifically focus on educational and outreach opportunities. Debbie Dickman has agreed to chair this effort.

Ken Sorenson provided the EC with a report from the Strategic Planning Working Group, which has been chaired by Ken Sorenson and has been investigating the possible restructuring of the Institute's Technical Divisions to better reflect the current state of nuclear materials management. The EC thanked Ken and the working group for their efforts to date. Ken agreed to lead a follow-on effort to evaluate a path forward for implementing the plan.

The EC also received reports from most of the Institute's Technical Divisions and Regional/Student Chapters. Of significance, the Vienna Chapter reported that it has elected new officers and is undertaking fresh efforts to revitalize itself.

If you are not currently active in a regional chapter or technical division, I encourage you to become involved. And, if there is anything that I can do to assist you in becoming involved, I look forward to hearing from you. Find more information on our technical divisions and chapters, along with contact information.