Lunch & Learn | PIANOFORTE Explained: Europe’s Partnership for Radiation Protection Research

Description

Radiation protection is a cornerstone of public health, occupational safety, nuclear safety, civil security, and environmental stewardship. The European Partnership on Radiation Protection Research (PIANOFORTE) carries out the research necessary to support the highest level of protection for the public, workers, patients, and the environment across all exposure scenarios. Its aim is also to formulate science-based recommendations for decision-makers across sectors utilising ionising radiation, enabling them to advance innovation while maintaining high safety standards.
Launched in 2022 with 58 partners and a total budget of €46 million, the partnership has rapidly grown to more than 120 partners. It currently funds 30 research projects addressing priority topics identified by the European radiation protection community, with a total allocated budget of €35 million.
The objective of this webinar is to present PIANOFORTE to the EURAD-2 community. In view of the forthcoming finalisation of PIANOFORTE’s Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA), the session will also provide an opportunity to explore potential synergies between the partnership’s activities. This will be achieved by identifying areas of common interest and discussing concrete possibilities for collaboration.
Particular attention will be given to topics at the interface between the two partnerships, including medical and industrial waste management and the development of circular economy approaches in radioactive waste management.

Speakers

Géraldine Pina is both an electrical engineer and a physician specialising in nuclear medicine and medical biology. An associate professor in Lyon, she is an expert in CBRN risks and a military reservist. Recipient of some of France’s highest honours, she has been involved in key emergency preparedness and medical response education programmes nationwide. She was appointed Commissioner at the French Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection Authority (ASNR) by presidential decree on 15 December 2020. She is actively engaged in the international radiation protection community, contributing to the work of the IAEA, ICRP, UNSCEAR and the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (OECD/NEA) and is coordinator of the PIANOFORTE European Partnership on behalf of ASNR.

Dr Florian Rauser has been Vice-President of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection and permanent representative of the President since June 2019. Dr Rauser holds a degree in physics and a doctorate in geosciences from the University of Hamburg. After studying at the Universities of Marburg and Brisbane, he first worked as a scientist and science manager for the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology. Before his current position, he was head of the Municipal Climate Protection Division at the Jülich Research Centre as project manager for the National Climate Initiative. In addition to specialist topics of the BfS, the Vice President’s main areas of focus include issues relating to international stakeholder work, the transformation of administration, quality, integrity and sustainability.

Manon Thiercelin is a PhD fellow at SCK CEN and KU Leuven in Belgium. She graduated in social and cultural anthropology from the Université Libre de Bruxelles. Throughout her master’s program, she developed a deep interest in the study of science and technology through a social lens. Her doctoral research follows the same line of interest and investigates the factors that drive or hinder the implementation of Circular Economy practices in NORM-related industries. The research builds on practice theory and a qualitative multi-methods approach.

Recording