On 1 February, Atef Abdelhamed Elkadime took up the position of Administrative Director of SESAME and despite COVID-19 he has already joined the Organization in Jordan.
Dr Elkadime has a PhD in Radiation Chemistry from Monoufia University (Egypt). For the last eight years he was Chairman of the Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority (EAEA).
He has extensive experience in the administration of large research facilities, as well as in research and teaching. In his position as Chairman of the EAEA, he managed an organization that has 4,000 employees and a very large annual budget. Having also held various other high-level positions at the EAEA he acquired managerial skills in all sections of this large facility.
As an AFRA (African Regional Agreement for Research, Development and Training related to Nuclear Science and Technology) National Coordinator, and Egypt’s National Liaison Officer (NLO) to the IAEA and representative at the Arab Atomic Energy Agency, as well as through a two-year position in Saudi Arabia and several fellowships and visits to scientifically-advanced countries (Austria, Denmark, France, Russia, the UK, the USA…..), Dr Elkadime has developed very extensive, well-established relations with intergovernmental organizations, the Gulf countries and countries of the North.
SESAME is in its nascent years as an operational laboratory Dr Elkadime pointed out. This is a stage in which needs are very different to those that existed during the construction years, and there is a need to adapt SESAME’s strategies, goals and working methods to those required by a user facility. This is an exciting challenge for me which I enthusiastically look forward to taking on he said.
SESAME is delighted to have Dr Elkadime on its team and welcomes the baggage of experience in the management of large research facilities that he brings with him.