Interview: Serge Franchoo

By
K=1 Project
May 10, 2016

Topic: Role of Scientists, Proliferation, Future Needs

Serge Franchoo, nuclear physicist at the University of Paris South talks about the diminishing role of scientists in political decisions about nuclear and the lack of public discussion on the topic. He talks about some of the discussion that happens at University and also talks about the differences of nuclear debate between France and Germany.

Dr. Serge Franchoo is a nuclear physicist at the Institute of Nuclear Physics at d'Orsay in the University of Paris South. Having completed his studies in the Nuclear Spectroscopy Group of the Institute for Nuclear and Radiation Physics at University of Leuven in Belgium, Dr. Franchoo has since worked at CERN in Geneva and was formerly president of Swiss Student Pugwash. Dr. Franchoo has been secretary of the French Pugwash Group since 2004 and is very concerned about the issues of nuclear proliferation and the safety of civilian nuclear energy. He has authored or coauthored over 140 publications, and in 2001, Dr. Franchoo wrote a paper for the Disarmament Forum at the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research entitled "Engaging Natural Scientists in Disarmament."