20 Mar (NucNet): William Magwood, a commissioner at the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, has been appointed director-general of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA). He will succeed Luis Echávarri of Spain who will retire at the end of April.
Mr Magwood, who is serving a second term as commissioner at the NRC, previously worked for seven years at the US Department of Energy, where he was the senior nuclear technology official in the US government.
The US Mission to OECD said Mr Magwood is an “internationally-renowned expert and leader in nuclear safety and research” whose appointment will be a boon for nuclear safety and cooperation internationally.
The Paris-based NEA is an intergovernmental organisation which facilitates cooperation among its 31 member states on scientific, technological, and legal matters associated with nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
Mr Echávarri is retiring from the NEA after nearly 17 years as the agency’s top official.
