Assystem’s Fouin becomes first female to chair Nuclear Institute in North East
12 Aug 2019
Global engineering organisation Assystem has announced that its senior mechanical engineer has been appointed the new chair of the Nuclear Institute North East branch.
Fanny Fouin is the first woman to occupy the role in addition to her job which involves her in a wealth of nuclear fusion projects including the world’s largest fusion reactor, ITER.
Speaking as she prepared to take over the voluntary post from predecessor Phillip Vaughan, Fouin commented: “Having worked in the nuclear engineering sector all through my career, I am honoured to take on this role. I am looking forward to meeting and working together with my industry peers from the North East and to create a strong nuclear network in the region.”
Fouin is already an active STEM ambassador, promoting science and engineering in schools and universities and for the Young Generation Network North East. In her new role she will be responsible for educating young people about the nuclear sector.
She added: “I am humbled by the opportunity to meet students and young people, educating them on career and employment opportunities the nuclear sector can offer. It is vital that on a local and national level, the nuclear industry comes together to show how it can play a major part in generating carbon-free energy.”
Assystem’s Sunderland-based team of scientists are working on designing robotic equipment that can safely remove irradiated components and dust from the heart of the machine.
This involves creating robotic equipment that can operate in harsh environments such as the high temperatures and very high level of radiation found in ITER, the world’s largest fusion experiment.
