JRC Institute for Advanced Materials - Annual Report 1996

The Institute for Advanced Materials (IAM), part of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre, has published its 1996 Annual Report, outlining its activities and the main research results from the year. The Institute carries out institutional support work for the Commis...

The Institute for Advanced Materials (IAM), part of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre, has published its 1996 Annual Report, outlining its activities and the main research results from the year.

The Institute carries out institutional support work for the Commission, linked to a number of the specific programmes, as well as work undertaken on the basis of competitive bidding. The Institute also hosts the Euratom High Flux Reactor which, among other things, produces a large proportion of medical isotopes in use in the world. In 1996, the HFR, at Petten in The Netherlands produced 75% of medical isotopes on the European market, and 27% of world sales.

The IAM had a staff complement of just over 300 at the end of 1996, of which more than five-sixths were permanent staff. The Institute's total budget was ECU 57 million. Of this, ECU 37 million was for institutional support work for the following programmes: Industrial and Materials Technologies (BRITE/EURAM), Non-nuclear Energy (JOULE/TEHRMIE), Nuclear Fission Safety, and Controlled Thermonuclear Fusion. The High Flux Reactor budget was ECU 17 million, with competitive work bringing in a further ECU 3 million.

During 1996 the management structures within the IAM were reformed, in order to make it leaner and to respond to changes in orientation. In particular, duplication of activities between the two sites at Petten, The Netherlands and Ispra, Italy was removed, and quality accreditation achieved for major testing activities in the Energy Systems Testing Unit. The Institute was successful in bidding as part of shared cost consortia for projects under the Fourth Framework Programme, however, targets for third-party competitive work did not prove so easy to meet. In the next two years more emphasis will be placed on commercial work, with a new marketing plan established in late 1996.