ITN

2001: Suggestions relative to the ITN Mission Statement

Exmº Senhor  
Prof. Mariano Gago  
Ministro da Ciência e da Tecnologia  
Praça do Comércio  
Ala Oriental  
1194 Lisboa Codex 

We, the members of the International Advisory Board of ITN, wish to make the following suggestions relative to the ITN mission Statement.

• The IAB suggests the following elements in the ITN Mission Statement: The ITN has as its primary task to carry out research and to provide expertise, training and services in the field of nuclear and radiation science for Portugal. This includes safety aspects such as radiation dosimetry, safety of nuclear installations and nuclear fuel, safe handling of radioisotopes , safety of installations emitting X-rays. The utilization of the Research Reactor and the ⁶⁰Co gamma ray irradiation facility are part of the mission. The R and D in the Sectors should be directed to furthering the use of nuclear and radiation technology for the good of Portugal-in societal, industrial, medical, etc. areas.
• The ITN can have as a complementary task to provide a number of facilities for experimental research for the scientific community in Portugal which are beyond the capacity of a single university. The nuclear facilities of ITN are unique in Portugal, with specialized equipment that exceeds the ability of a university to acquire and maintain. A mission of ITN should be to make these facilities available to university (and private laboratory) researchers, including technical help and laboratory space for these external users (particularly those from universities). ITN has to provide a modern and updated research infrastructure, including trained scientists, around these facilities. Typical examples would be the ion beam laboratory with a Van de Graaff accelerator and its high fluence ion implanter and, possibly, a small cyclotron for nuclear medicine.

We trust that this suggestions will be useful to you in your desire to improve the value of ITN to Portugal.

Sincerely yours

International Advisory Board: 

Prof. Gregory Choppin
Prof . Freddy Adams
Prof. Roger Alberto
Prof. Murdoch Baxter
Prof. Guido Langouche
Prof. José Teixeira

C.C.: Prof. Carvalho Soares