International reaction: Group visits Japan

Recent PhD graduate Sama Bilbao y León was among some 25 students and young professionals who embarked on weeklong tours of Japanese nuclear facilities as part of the seventh International Conference on Nuclear Engineering in Tokyo in April 1999. They visited JAERI's Fusion Reactor, JT-60 in Naka Fusion Research Center, and JAERI's High Temperature Test Reactor (HTTR) in Tokai. The group also visited Kashiwasaki-Kariwa, the first advanced boiling water reactor in the world, and toured JNC's Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor in Monju.

Organized by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Société Française d'Energie Nucléaire and Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers, the conference included four days of lectures and technical sessions. It showcased advances in such areas as structural integrity, dynamic behavior, seismic design, next-generation systems, and decommissioning and decontamination.