Participants and Biographies

Néjib Sayari (Tunisia) serves as head of the feasibility studies division of the Société Tunisienne de l’Electricité et du Gaz conducting research for a future Tunisian nuclear power plant. Société Tunisienne de l’Electricité et du Gaz is a Tunisian company involved in the generation and distribution of electricity and gas throughout the country. Under his current responsibilities, Dr. Sayari is involved in preparation of TOR for a technical and economical feasibility study for a Tunisian nuclear power plant which deals with site evaluation and confirmation, energy and electrical grid planning, technologies and nuclear fuel cycle, national industry involvement, handling and storage of radioactive waste, and spent fuel storage options. Dr. Sayari has extensive experience working with multinational companies involved in the energy and electricity generation sector. Société Tunisienne de l’Electricité et du Gaz has employed Dr. Sayari since 1994, and he has been affiliated with many roles within the company during his tenure. Prior to his current role, he served as project manager for a gas turbine power plant, head of the company’s performance division, and head of the steam generator sector. Before joining Société Tunisienne de l’Electricité et du Gaz, Dr. Sayari was an engineer in the turbine division of Asea Brown and Boveri. He was also a university teacher at the Swiss Federal Polytechnic Institute in Lausanne. Dr. Sayari holds a B.A. in Mathematics and Technology from Lycee Technique de Béja, a degree in Engineering from Ecole Nationale d’ingénieurs de Tunis, and a Ph.D. in Applied Thermodynamics from Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale Lausanne.

Mahmoud Abdul Majeed Shureideh (Jordan) is a forensic specialist and practitioner of forensic work in northern Jordan. In his work, he has contributed extensively to the development of forensic medical practices in northern Jordan. Dr. Al-Shureideh taught forensic medicine at a Jordanian technological university. He has helped UNICEF and the Jordanian Ministry of Health in the area of child protection and is a member of various professional groups that target child abuse and domestic violence. He holds a Bachelor’s in Medicine and Surgery from Cluj University, Romania and teaches at the Jordan University for Science and Technology. Dr. Shureideh attended and participated in a number of international conferences and workshops.

Noel Stott (South Africa) leads the Pretoria-based Institute for Security Studies’ “Africa’s Development and the Threat of Weapons of Mass Destruction” project. Noel has been employed Participants Biographies 78 by ISS’s Arms Management Programme since May 2002. The ISS is a member of the group of non-governmental experts from countries belonging to the New Agenda Coalition (Brazil, Ireland, New Zealand, Mexico, South Africa, Sweden and Egypt) which was recently formed to support the implementation of the Thirteen Practical Steps Toward Nuclear Disarmament for the “systematic and progressive efforts” to implement Article VI of the Treaty on the Non- Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

John Thomson (UK) is a Research Affiliate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He served as the United Kingdom High Commissioner to India and as the Permanent Representative at the United Nations. Sir John Thomson joined the British Foreign Service in 1950. He served in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and London, becoming Private Secretary to the Permanent Under-Secretary in the Foreign Office. Following four years of politico-military work in Washington, he became Head of Policy Planning in the Foreign Office, Chief of the Assessments Staff in the Cabinet Office, Minister at NATO and Under-Secretary for defense and disarmament in the Foreign Office. He was the founder chairman of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. While at NATO he also led the British delegation to the MBFR negotiations in Vienna. He retired on his 60th birthday in 1987. Subsequently, he led a CSCE mission to Bosnia (1992) and participated in another to Albania (1994).

Ahmad A. Ulimat (Jordan) serves as director of the Water Resources Quality Protection Department, Laboratories and Quality Control Sector, Water Authority of Jordan (WAJ), Ministry of Water and Irrigation (MWI). He is also a Member of Board Directors for Jordan Institute for Standardization & Metrology (JISM), a technical advisor for water and environment issues with Zarqa Chamber of Industry. He was nominated by the Minister of Water & Irrigation and national director for the project entitled “TMS for water quality monitoring in Jordan”. In the past, he has worked in many other senior roles at the Water Authority of Jordan and as a chemical engineer. Mr. Ulimat received training in water quality in the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, and Sweden. He holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Petroleum and Minerals, Saudi Arabia.

Henk-Cor van der Kwast (Netherlands), has a distinguished diplomatic career at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He is currently Head Non-proliferation Disarmament, Arms Control and Export Control policy Division at the Security Policy Department. In his previous position he served as the Deputy Head Political Department Western Europe/Section Head Southern Europe. From 1999-2003 Henk- Cor was the Counsellor Political affairs Netherlands Permanent Representation to the UN and other international organizations in Geneva. In 1996-1999 he served as the senior policy maker European Commission Brussels. Counsellor for Democratisation programmes with OSCE and UN programmes Directorate-general External Relations. In 1993-1996 Henk-Cor fulfilled the position of senior policy advisor International Organisation Department, Legal and Social Affairs MFA (UN, EU, OSCE and Council of Europe). In 1993 he functioned at Taskforce Prepcom OPCW (Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons) in the Hague MFA, representing the Netherlands in the Prepcom OPCW. From 1989-1992 Henk-Cor was stationed at the H.M. Embassy in Abidjan (Ivory Coast), 2nd Secretary /Deputy Chief of Mission. During 1987-1989 he served as policy advisor Western Hemisphere Department. Henk-Cor holds a graduate degree from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).

Klaas van der Meer (Belgium) is a researcher at the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre SCK*CEN

Brett Walker (US, IAEA) is currently on assignment at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Austria. Working in the Division of Public Information, he assists IAEA public information officers in providing inquirers with correct information about nuclear issues as well as the Agency’s mandate. In addition to this he attends IAEA Board of Governors meetings, participates in press briefings and provides nonproliferation analysis for various consumers. Furthermore, Brett uses his time at the IAEA to conduct research on the possible deployment of an IAEA regional safeguards office in the Middle East. He is also a candidate for MA in International Policy Studies from the Monterey Institute of International Studies in December of 2009 with a certificate in Nonproliferation Studies. During his time at the Monterey Institute, Brett focused his studies on proliferation issues in the Middle East. Brett spent the summer of 2008 working in Amman, Jordan at the Arab Institute for Security Studies. He wrote for the Arab Institute’s Arabic language monthly security bulletin, conducted field research on Arab perceptions of the Iran nuclear issue, and wrote a paper on Middle Eastern security from a Jordanian perspective. Brett also contributes to the new Middle East Nonproliferation Project at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey.

Nicholas J. Wheeler (UK) is Professor in the Department of International Politics at Aberystwyth University. Author of a number of publications, he has also written widely on humanitarian intervention and is the author of Saving Strangers: Humanitarian Intervention in International Society (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000). He has recently been awarded a 3-year ESRC/AHRC Fellowship under RCUK’s ‘Global Uncertainties: Security For All in a Changing World’ Programme on ‘The Challenges to Trust-Building in Nuclear Worlds.’ He is Director of the David Davies Memorial Institute of International Studies at Aberystwyth University http://www.aber.ac.uk/ interpol/en/research/DDMI/DavidDavies.htm, a Trustee of the Welsh Centre of International Affairs, and a member of the United Nations Association of the UK’s Policy Advisory Committee.

Jeremy Whitlock (Canada) is the Manager of Non-Proliferation and Safeguards at Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), Chalk River Laboratories, with responsibility for ensuring that AECL technology development meets international obligations on nuclear weapons non-proliferation. Dr. Whitlock has worked for AECL since 1994, most of that time in reactor physics analysis of CANDU and various research reactor projects. Dr. Whitlock received a B.Sc. (Physics) from the University of Waterloo in 1988, a M.Eng. (Engineering Physics – Nuclear) from McMaster University in 1991, and a PhD (Engineering Physics - Nuclear) from McMaster in 1995. Jeremy Whitlock is cochair of the Generation IV International Forum (GIF) Working Group on Proliferation Resistance and Physical Protection (PRPP), examining the proliferation resistance of advanced nuclear energy systems. He has also served on a number of IAEA consultancies and collaborative projects under the International Project on Innovative Nuclear Reactors and Fuel Cycles (INPRO). Dr. Whitlock is a Past President and Fellow of the Canadian Nuclear Society (CNS), as well as Chair of the CNS Education & Communication Committee. He is also a past member of the Board of Directors of the American Nuclear Society (ANS).

John Weiss (US) is an Associate Professor of History, Cornell University. Ph.D., Harvard University. Since 1974 has taught at Cornell courses on modern European history, history of technology, international humanitarianism, and genocidal regimes. Publications and policy papers in these areas. Founder of Darfur Action Group-Cornell. Formerly director of Cornell’s Participants Biographies 80 Institute for European Studies and directeur d’études associé at Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris. John is an instrumental member in Cornell’s “Team Iran”, a group of three dozen faculty and students who have been studying Iran and Iranian-American relations. The group, referred to as Team Iran-Cornell, was founded in December 2006 by John Weiss.