Joshikai for
Future Scientists

Programme and Speaker Biographies
International Mentoring Workshop
in Science and Engineering
25-26 July 2017
Chiba, JapanJOSHIKAI FOR FUTURE SCIENTISTS: INTERNATIONAL MENTORING WORKSHOP IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

Foreword

Despite progress over the past decades, women remain underrepresented in executive positions in science, technology, engineering andmathematics. Female students tend to do very well in math and science
early in their academic careers, but often decide on other career paths infields such as humanities, the arts and education. In 2012, only 14% of
women in OECD countries who entered university for the first time choseto go into science and engineering fields, compared to 39% of men.
Although opportunities for women exist in these fields, a wide gender gap
remains in the workforce, and women professionals in many parts of theworld continue to face difficulties in these areas. In fact, men are almost four times more likely
than women to be employed in engineering and computing in OECD countries.*
Many countries are working to close the gender gap and are developing policies to reverse
this trend. A prime example is Japan, where Prime Minister Shinzō Abe has madeenhancing the role of women in the economy a national priority. His government aims toincrease the presence of women working in science and engineering, as well as to develop
policies that empower women to progress in their careers.
We at the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) believe this is a very important and valuable effort.
In the areas of science and technology related to our areas of work, many of our member
countries find fewer young people are studying science, mathematics and engineering than
was the case in previous generations. This has very serious implications for the future and itis, therefore, essential to ensure that all young people, including young women, have theopportunity to explore careers in science and technology.
It is in that spirit that the NEA is co-operating with Japan’s National Institutes for Quantum
and Radiological Science and Technology (QST) to take a positive step towards giving
young Japanese women what may, for some, prove to be a life-changing experience. For
two days, approximately 60 female students from Japanese high schools will have theunique experience of talking in an informal and personal manner with seven highly
accomplished women from Japan and from four other countries about the lives, careersand experiences of women in science and engineering.
This workshop, “Joshikai for Future Scientists: International Mentoring Workshop in
Science and Engineering,” is a unique event. It will include a special video address to thestudents by Dr Hélène Langevin-Joliot, renowned nuclear physicist, Director of Research
Emeritus of the French National Center for Scientific Research and granddaughter of Marie
and Pierre Curie, and remarks from representatives of Prime Minister Abe’s government.
The outcomes of this effort may not be known for many years, but if even a modest portionof the young women who participate in this workshop find the encouragement to become
science and technology professionals, it will have been an effort very much worthwhile.
William D. Magwood, IV
Director-General, Nuclear Energy Agency* For more information, see OECD (2015), The ABC of Gender Equality in Education: Aptitude, Behaviour, Confidence,OECD Publishing, Paris.

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JOSHIKAI FOR FUTURE SCIENTISTS: INTERNATIONAL MENTORING WORKSHOP IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

Workshop venue
Tokyo Bay Makuhari Hall
Hibino 2-3, Mihama-ku, Chiba-shi, Chiba 261-0021 Japan

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JOSHIKAI FOR FUTURE SCIENTISTS: INTERNATIONAL MENTORING WORKSHOP IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

Workshop programme

Day 1 – Tuesday, 25 July 2017
9:00-10:00

Registration
Tokyo Bay Makuhari Hall

Joint session with QST International Symposium “Quantum Life Science”
10:00-11:40, Tokyo Bay Makuhari Hall – Hall A∗

10:00-10:05

Opening remarks
Toshio Hirano, President, National Institutes for Quantum andRadiological Science and Technology (QST)

10:05-10:10

Greetings I
TBD, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology(MEXT), Japan ∗10:10-10:15

Greetings II
Aiko Shimajiri, Special Advisor to the Minister, Cabinet Office,
Government of Japan

10:15-10:25

Greetings III/Introduction of video message
Claudie Haigneré, Senior Advisor to the Director-General, European
Space Agency (ESA)

10:25-10:35

Greetings IV (video message)
Hélène Langevin-Joliot, Director of Research Emeritus, French National
Center for Scientific Research (CNRS)

10:35-11:40

Keynote lecture – Quantum biology
Johnjoe McFadden, Professor, University of Surrey, United Kingdom

11:40-13:00

Lunch break

At the time of printing, confirmation had not been received. TBD = to be determined.

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JOSHIKAI FOR FUTURE SCIENTISTS: INTERNATIONAL MENTORING WORKSHOP IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

Joshikai for Future Scientists: International Mentoring Workshop
in Science and Engineering
13:00-18:00, Tokyo Bay Makuhari Hall – Joshikai room
13:00-13:10

Orientation for students
QST staff
Master of ceremony for the workshop: Aditi Verma, PhD candidate in the
Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Instituteof Technology (MIT)13:10-13:35

Lecture 1
Cynthia Pederson, Regional Administrator, US Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC)

13:35-14:00

Lecture 2
Noriko Hosoya, Lecturer, Laboratory of Molecular Radiology, Center for
Disease Biology and Integrative Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine,
University of Tokyo

14:00-14:25

Lecture 3
Rumina Velshi, Board Member, Ontario Energy Board; former
Commissioner with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission

14:25-14:40

Break

14:40-15:05

Lecture 4
Asako Nakamura, Professor, College of Science, Ibaraki University, Japan

15:05-15:30

Lecture 5
Tatiana Ivanova, Head of the Division of Nuclear Science, Nuclear Energy
Agency (NEA)

15:30-15:55

Lecture 6
Sachiko Yano, Visiting Researcher of the National Institute of Science andTechnology Policy (NISTEP), Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports,
Science and Technology (MEXT), Japan

15:55-16:10

Break

16:10-18:00

Group dialogues
Mentors and students will be divided into 6 groups.

18:10-20:40

Joint reception and poster presentation (in banquet hall and poster
room)

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JOSHIKAI FOR FUTURE SCIENTISTS: INTERNATIONAL MENTORING WORKSHOP IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERINGDay 2 – Wednesday, 26 July 2017

Joshikai for Future Scientists: International Mentoring Workshop
in Science and Engineering
08:15-11:20, Tokyo Bay Makuhari Hall – Joshikai room
08:15-08:30

Presentation by Claudie Haigneré

08:30-10:20

Group dialogues
Mentors and students will be divided into 6 groups.

10:20-11:20

Report back (each mentor will have 10 minutes to report)

11:20

Transfer to QST Symposium
Workshop participants will move to Hall A

Joint session with QST International Symposium “Quantum Life Science”
11:30-12:15, Tokyo Bay Makuhari Hall – Hall A
11:30-12:00

Report of mentoring workshop/Conclusion
Claudie Haigneré (ESA) and Shizuko Kakinuma (QST)

12:00-12:05

Closing remarks for the mentoring workshop
William D. Magwood, IV, Director-General, Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA)

12:05-12:15

Congress photo

Facility tour: National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS)
12:30-15:40
12:30-13:00

Departure by bus for the National Institute of Radiological Sciences(NIRS)

13:00-13:45

Lunch

13:45-14:05

Video presentation

14:05-14:35

Facility of Heavy Particle Beam Therapy/Hospital

14:35-15:05

Radiation Emergency Medical Response

15:05-15:10

Back to meeting room

15:10-15:40

Departure from NIRS and return to Tokyo Bay Makuhari Hall

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JOSHIKAI FOR FUTURE SCIENTISTS: INTERNATIONAL MENTORING WORKSHOP IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

Speaker biographies
Opening session of the International Symposium “Quantum Life Science”
Toshio Hirano, President, National Institutes for Quantum andRadiological Science and Technology (QST)
After obtaining his medical degree from the Faculty of Medicine at
Osaka University in 1972 and a PhD in 1979, President Hirano held
many positions of responsibility at Osaka University and otheracademic institutions over the years. These roles have included
several professorships, Dean of the Graduate School of Frontier
Biosciences, Dean of the Graduate School of Medicine, andPresident of Osaka University. He has also acted as a President of
the Japanese Society for Immunology and as an Executive member of Council for
Science, Technology and Innovation Cabinet Office, Japan. Most recently, in 2016, he
was appointed as the first President of the National Institutes for Quantum andRadiological Science and Technology, QST. With more than 250 peer-reviewed
publications to his name, President Hirano is an eminent researcher in the field of
molecular immunology. He is best known for the important discovery of the interleukin-6(IL-6) gene in 1986 and for the clarification of the role of this gene in chronic inflammatory
and autoimmune diseases. This work has led to him being honoured with some of themost prestigious Japanese and international awards for scientific research, including theNovartis Prize for Immunology in 1992, the Emperor’s Purple Ribbon Medal in 2006, theCrafoord Prize in 2009 (of which he was the first ever Japanese recipient), and the Japan
Prize in 2011. Given his status as a world-renowned scientist, President Hirano is
passionate about advancing QST as a world-class institution. President Hirano plans tolead QST in its aspiration to become a platform for quantum science and technology R&D
at the world’s highest level, in order to contribute to the promotion of a peaceful andspiritually rich human society through the creation of harmonious diversity via quantum
science and technologies.
Aiko Shimajiri, Special Advisor to the Minister, Cabinet Office,
Government of Japan
Ms Shimajiri was appointed in August 2016 as Special Advisor to the
Minister, Cabinet Office. Prior to her current position, she held
various positions including: Minister of State for Science andTechnology Policy (Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern
Territories Affairs, Minister of State for Space Policy, Minister incharge of Information Technology Policy) (2015); Chairperson,
Federation of Okinawa Prefecture, Liberal Democratic Party of Japan
Branches (2015); Chairperson, Committee on Environment of the Upper House (2014);
Parliamentary Vice-Ministers of Cabinet Office (2012-2013); Director, Women’s Affairs
Division, Liberal Democratic Party of Japan (2011). Ms Shimajiri studied at Sophia
University, faculty of humanity.

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JOSHIKAI FOR FUTURE SCIENTISTS: INTERNATIONAL MENTORING WORKSHOP IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

Hélène Langevin-Joliot, Director of Research Emeritus, French
National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS)Dr Langevin-Joliot is the daughter of Irène Joliot-Curie and FrédéricJoliot, and the granddaughter of Marie and Pierre Curie, all of whomwere Nobel Prize recipients. Dr Langevin-Joliot is a distinguishednuclear physicist, doctor of science and Director of Research Emeritus
at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS). In 1957
she contributed to the inauguration of the Institute of Nuclear Physics
in Orsay, France, which was created following her mother’s initiative. In
1979 she became the Institute’s Director, a position which she kept until 1983. From 1981 to
1985, she served as Chair of the CNRS Committee for Nuclear Physics. She was a memberof the Advisory Committee for Science and Technology to the Parliamentary Office of France
from 1985 to 1992. In 2012, Dr Langevin-Joliot was awarded France’s highest honour, theLegion of Honour. Throughout her career and into retirement, Dr Langevin-Joliot hascontinuously encouraged young women to pursue scientific careers, using her mother andgrandmother as prime examples of women who overcame challenges to succeed in theirprofessional careers.

Johnjoe McFadden, Professor, University of Surrey, United
Kingdom
Mr McFadden is currently Professor of Molecular Genetics at the
University of Surrey, a position he has held since 2002. He began
working at the University of Surrey in 1988 as Lecturer in the schoolof biological sciences, and from 1994 to 2001 was Reader at theuniversity. From 1984 to 1988, Mr McFadden was a research fellow
in the Department of Surgery at St George’s Hospital Medical Schoolin London. Prior to that he was a research fellow in the Departmentof Biochemistry at St Mary’s Hospital Medical School. Mr McFadden received his PhD inbiochemistry from the Imperial College of the University of London and he received his
BSc in biochemistry from Bedford College of the University of London.

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JOSHIKAI FOR FUTURE SCIENTISTS: INTERNATIONAL MENTORING WORKSHOP IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

Co-Chairs
Claudie Haigneré, Senior Advisor to the Director-General of theEuropean Space Agency (ESA)
Ms Haigneré was selected by the French National Centre for SpaceStudies (CNES) in 1985 as an astronaut candidate. She trained in StarCity Russia, and completed her first space mission (16 days) on board
the Mir Space Station in 1996. She became a member of the European
Astronaut Corps for the European Space Agency (ESA) in 1999 andcompleted a second mission (10 days) on board the International
Space Station (ISS) in 2001. From 2002 to 2004, Ms Haigneré wasDelegate Minister for Research in the French government under the presidency of Jacques
Chirac. In 2004, she became Delegate Minister for European Affairs. Ms Haigneré served as
an advisor to ESA’s Director-General for the European space strategy from 2005 to 2009.
Following her time at the ESA, she held the position of CEO at the Universcience science
museum (Palais de la Découverte and Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie) in Paris from 2009
to 2015 before returning to ESA in her current position as Senior Advisor to the DirectorGeneral. Ms Haigneré has a PhD in neurosciences and is a doctor of medicine inrheumatology. She is a Doctor Honoris Causa from the École Polytechnique Fédérale deLausanne in Switzerland and from the University of Mons (Belgium). In addition, Ms Haigneré
is Professor Honoris Causa from the University of Beihang in Pekin, China. She is a Grand
Officier of the French Legion of Honour, a member of the French Académie desTechnologies, Académie des Sports, Académie des Sciences de l’Outre-Mer and the
Académie des Sciences in Belgium. Since 2016, she has served as President of the
Association Solidarité Défense and is a Colonel (ADER network - Action, Development,
Engagement, Reflection) in La Réserve Citoyenne de l’Armée de l’Air.
Shizuko Kakinuma, Director of the Department of Radiation Effects
Research (NIRS, QST) and Unit Leader of the QST Diversity
Management Unit
Ms Kakinuma is a radiation molecular biologist who has more than
20 years’ experience and more than 60 publications to her name.
Since 2016, she has been the Director of the Department of Radiation
Effects Research at the National Institute of Radiological Sciences(NIRS), National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science andTechnology (QST). Ms Kakinuma worked with the Radiobiology forChildren’s Health Research Programme at the NIRS, first as a researcher (1997-2006) thenas a team leader (2006-2016). Prior to working for the NIRS, she was a researcher at The
Kitasato Institute (1984-1990 and 1992-1997). From 1990 to 1992, she was a researcher at
Bristol-Myers Squibb Institute. During her career, Ms Kakinuma worked on the International
Space Station (ISS) experiment, “Lifetime Heritable Effect of Space Radiation on Mouse
Embryos Preserved for a Long-term in ISS (Embryo Rad)”. She has taught radiation biology
at the universities of Ibaraki, Hiroshima and Toho, and has also taught students atelementary and junior high school levels, as well as speaking publicly on the health effects ofradiation. Ms Kakinuma was part of the investigation committee for the accident at the
Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant and was on the expert panel for the follow-up ofrecommendations to the Japanese government. Ms Kakinuma received her PhD and Masterof Science in pharmaceutical science from Kitasato University. Ms Kakinuma is a member of
the Japan Radiation Research Society, the Japanese Cancer Association, the JapaneseSociety for Immunology, the Molecular Biology Society of Japan and the Japanese
Association for Cancer Prevention.
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JOSHIKAI FOR FUTURE SCIENTISTS: INTERNATIONAL MENTORING WORKSHOP IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA)
William D. Magwood, IV, Director-General
Mr Magwood took up his duties as Director-General of the NEA on
1 September 2014. He has extensive experience in both theregulatory and developmental aspects of nuclear energy, including at
the international level. From 2010 to 2014, he served as one of thefive Commissioners appointed by the US President and confirmed by
the US Senate to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
While a commissioner, he advocated the importance of nuclear
regulatory independence and the necessity of maintaining strong,credible and technically sound nuclear regulation in the United States and all countries
that use nuclear power. Prior to his appointment at the NRC, from 2005 to 2010 heprovided independent strategic and policy advice to US and international clients onenergy, environmental and technology policy issues. During this time, he also sat on
various advisory groups and provided technical and policy advice to members of the US
Congress on nuclear research, education and climate change policy. From 1998 to 2005,
Mr Magwood was Director of Nuclear Energy at the US Department of Energy (DOE).
During his tenure, he launched several important initiatives including the US Nuclear
Power 2010 programme and the Generation IV International Forum (GIF). He was also
actively involved in the work of the NEA, serving as a Steering Committee bureau member
from 1999 to 2003, and as Chair in 2004 and early 2005. Prior to his experience at theDOE, Mr Magwood managed electric utility research and nuclear policy programmes at
the Edison Electric Institute in Washington, DC, and was a scientist at Westinghouse
Electric Corporation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Mr Magwood, a US national, holds
Bachelor’s degrees in Physics and English from Carnegie Mellon University and a Masterof Fine Arts from the University of Pittsburgh.
Yeonhee Hah, Head of the Division of Radiological Protection and
Human Aspects of Nuclear Safety (RP-HANS)
Ms Hah took up her duties at the NEA on 7 September 2015. The
Division of Radiological Protection and Human Aspects of Nuclear
Safety focuses on radiological protection principles, regulation andapplication, and on the human aspects of nuclear safety in suchareas as safety culture, human and organisational factors, personnel
training policies and practices, and safety-related public
communication and stakeholder engagement. The division gives
technical and administrative support to the Committee on Radiological Protection andPublic Health (CRPPH), facilitating the execution of the programme of work, and assists NEA
safety-related committees, including the Committee on Nuclear Regulatory Activities(CNRA), the Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI) and the Radioactive
Waste Management Committee (RWMC) in the areas of responsibility of the respective
divisions. Ms Hah is an expert in international co-operation with 20 years' experience
working for the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS). She has extensive expertise in areas
such as international co-operation, public communication, education and training, regulatory
policy and development, and interaction with various stakeholders. From 2010 to April 2014,
Ms Hah chaired the CNRA Working Group on Public Communication of Nuclear Regulatory
Organisations. Ms Hah, a Korean national, holds a Master's degree in Communications from
Ewha Women's University.

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JOSHIKAI FOR FUTURE SCIENTISTS: INTERNATIONAL MENTORING WORKSHOP IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

Mentors
Noriko Hosoya, Lecturer, Laboratory of Molecular Radiology, Center
for Disease Biology and Integrative Medicine, Graduate School of
Medicine, University of Tokyo
Ms Hosoya has been a lecturer at the Laboratory of MolecularRadiology at the University of Tokyo since 2012. She has beenworking at the University of Tokyo since 2003 when she began as a
Project Assistant Professor in the Department of Cell Therapy andTransplantation Medicine. She then became Assistant Professor
within the same department, and in 2006 she became AssistantProfessor in the Laboratory of Molecular Radiology. Prior to her positions at the Universityof Tokyo, Ms Hosoya was a resident at the University of Tokyo Hospital from 1993 to
1994, and from 1994 to 1995 was a resident at the National Center for Global Health andMedicine. In 1999, she was a clinical research fellow in the Department of Hematology
and Oncology at the University of Tokyo Hospital, and in 2000 she worked as a research
fellow at the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. Ms Hosoya has an MD from theFaculty of Medicine of the University of Tokyo and a PhD from the University of Tokyo’s
Graduate School of Medicine. She serves as a Councillor for the Japanese Cancer
Association (JCA) and the Japanese Radiation Research Society (JRRS).
Tatiana Ivanova, Head of the Division of Nuclear Science of the
Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA)
Ms Ivanova leads NEA activities associated with nuclear science andtechnology, and international co-operation. She works on developing
new approaches to enhanced horizontal co-operation within the NEA
and with external bodies in order to advance the scientific knowledge
needed to enhance the performance and safety of current nuclear
systems. Ms Ivanova has 28 years of experience in bothdevelopmental and safety assessment aspects of nuclear energy,
including at the international level. Prior to joining the NEA, she enjoyed a nine-year careerwith the French Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN), most recently
as the Deputy Head of the Reactor Physics Research and Safety Assessment Laboratory.
Previously, she had worked with the Institute of Nuclear Physics (IPN) of the French National
Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and the Institute of Physics and Power Engineering(IPPE) in Obninsk, Russia. During her successive posts in research institutions in France andRussia, her extensive technical and managerial experience included work on fast reactor
design; validation, verification and uncertainty quantification for nuclear reactors and fuelcycle applications; nuclear data processing and validation; and design, evaluation andanalysis of integral experiments. Throughout her career, Ms Ivanova has been at theforefront of international science projects. She has been actively involved in the work of the
NEA, most notably as the Chair, from 2007 to 2014, of the NEA Working Party on Nuclear
Criticality Safety (WPNCS) Expert Group on Uncertainty Analysis for Criticality Safety
Assessment. Ms Ivanova, a dual French and Russian citizen, holds a Doctorate in Physics
and Mathematics from the I.I. Leypunsky Institute of Physics and Power Engineering (IPPE),
and a Master's degree in Nuclear Engineering from the Obninsk branch of the National
Research Nuclear University MEPhI (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute).

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JOSHIKAI FOR FUTURE SCIENTISTS: INTERNATIONAL MENTORING WORKSHOP IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

Asako J. Nakamura, Professor, College of Science, Ibaraki University
Ms Nakamura is a radiation cellular biologist specialising in themechanisms of genome integrity, DNA double-strand break repair andmammalian ageing. She is currently a Professor at Ibaraki University’s
College of Science where she began working in 2013 as an Associate
Professor. From 2011 to 2013, Ms Nakamura was a Junior Associate
Professor in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology at the Osaka
Medical College. Prior to this position, she was a Visiting Fellow(2007-2009) and then a Research Fellow (2009-2011) at the National
Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute and Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology.
From 2004 to 2007, Ms Nakamura was a special volunteer of the Japan Society for
Promotion of Science for Japanese Biomedical and Behavioural Researchers at the National
Institute of Health (NIH), and from 2002 to 2004 she was a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow of
the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. Ms Nakamura has a Master’s degree and a
PhD in pharmaceutical science from Hiroshima University. In addition to her work at Ibaraki
University, Ms Nakamura is a mentor for the National Institute of Health’s summer student
programme. She is a member of the Radiation Research Society, the Japanese Cancer
Association and the Japan Radiation Research Society.
Cynthia Pederson, Regional Administrator, United States Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC)In October 1983, Ms Pederson joined the United States Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC) as a Resident Inspector at a Boiling
Water Reactor facility in Illinois and later at a Pressurised Water
Reactor facility in Michigan where she inspected nuclear plant safety
performance. Since that time, she has held a number of progressively
more responsible positions where she was in charge of safety
oversight of nuclear power plants, nuclear plant operator
examinations, fuel cycle facilities, medical/academic/industrial materials users, incident
response and allegation/enforcement resolution. In August 2013, Ms Pederson was
appointed to the position of Regional Administrator, the first women to be selected forsuch a position. As Regional Administrator, Ms Pederson leads a staff of approximately
200 people whose mission is to protect public health and safety by inspecting 23 civilian
nuclear power reactors, and licensing and inspecting over 1 000 materials licensees ineight states in the central United States. Ms Pederson graduated from the University of
Minnesota with a degree in Chemical Engineering. She is a recipient of the Presidential
Meritorious Rank Award in recognition of her service to the US Government as a highperforming senior career employee with sustained extraordinary accomplishments.
Ms Pederson is also a champion of encouraging girls to pursue Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) by initiating and leading her organisation’s outreachto school age children in the community.

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JOSHIKAI FOR FUTURE SCIENTISTS: INTERNATIONAL MENTORING WORKSHOP IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

Rumina Velshi, Board Member, Ontario Energy Board; former
Commissioner with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
Rumina Velshi was appointed part-time Board member of the Ontario
Energy Board (OEB) in March 2017. Ms Velshi brings to the OEB
extensive technical and regulatory expertise in the area of nuclear
energy. Most recently she served for five years as a Commission
Member of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, which regulates
the use of nuclear energy and materials to protect health, safety,
security and the environment. She has had a long career in the energy
sector working in various capacities at Ontario Hydro and Ontario Power Generation where
she was Director, Planning and Control, for the Darlington New Nuclear Project. Ms Velshi
holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (Civil Engineering), a Master’s of Engineering (Chemical
Engineering) and a Master’s of Business Administration, all from the University of Toronto.
Sachiko Yano, Visiting Researcher of the National Institute of Scienceand Technology Policy (NISTEP), Japanese Ministry of Education,
Culture, Sport, Science and Technology (MEXT)
Ms Yano is currently a Visiting Researcher of the National Institute of
Science and Technology Policy (NISTEP), Japanese Ministry of
Education, Culture, Sport, Science and Technology (MEXT) where she
is working on science technology foresight in order to make scenarios
for an ideal society in the future using leading-edge technologies. She isalso a Senior Associate Engineer at the Japan Aerospace Exploration
Agency (JAXA) where she is in charge of the JAXA life science experiment, including cell
culture and plant cultivation under a microgravity environment. In addition, she works as an
Education Program Advisor at the University of Yamanashi and a part-time lecturer at Hosei
University. From 1997 to 2003, Ms Yano worked at the National Space Development Agencyof Japan (NASDA) as an engineer. For one year (2012-2013), she was a mission scientist
with JAXA for life science experiments on board the International Space Station (ISS).
Ms Yano received her Master’s degree from the Graduate School of Biosystem Studies at
the University of Tsukuba and received her PhD in science from the Graduate School of
Natural Science and Technology at the University of Kanazawa. Ms Yano serves as aCouncillor on the Japanese Society for Biological Sciences in Space and is a co-chairpersonof the programme subcommittee for the Space Life Sciences session at the International
Symposium on Space Technology and Science (ISTS).

Young mentor
Aditi Verma, PhD candidate in the Department of Nuclear Scienceand Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)Ms Verma’s doctoral research focuses on the techno-organisational
interactions of nuclear safety. Ms Verma has served as a teachingassistant for undergraduate, graduate and professional courses at the
departments of Physics and Nuclear Engineering at MIT. She has also
participated in MIT Science and Technology Initiative’s Global Teaching
Lab programs in Germany and Italy. She has held internships at Areva,
the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, and at the Center for
Study of Science, Technology and Policy in Bangalore, India. She has been a Burchard
Scholar and was twice awarded the Kelly Douglas Fellowship to pursue independent projects
in the humanities alongside her summer internships in fields of nuclear engineering.
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www.oecd-nea.org/general/events/
mentoring-workshop/2017.html
www.qst.go.jp/ENG/news/
itemid307-002174.html

Workshop venue: Tok yo Bay Makuhari Hall