Subscribe options

Select your newsletters:

Please enter your email address:

@

Your email address will only be used for the purpose of sending you the ITER Organization publication(s) that you have requested. ITER Organization will not transfer your email address or other personal data to any other party or use it for commercial purposes.

If you change your mind, you can easily unsubscribe by clicking the unsubscribe option at the bottom of an email you've received from ITER Organization.

For more information, see our Privacy policy.

News & Media

Latest ITER Newsline

  • Poloidal field magnets | The last ring

    As the massive ring-shaped coil inched its way from the Poloidal Field Coils Winding Facility, where it was manufactured, to the storage facility nearby where i [...]

    Read more

  • Heat rejection | White "smoke" brings good news

    Like a plume of white smoke rising from a cardinals' conclave to announce the election of a new pope, the tenuous vapour coming from one of the ITER cooling cel [...]

    Read more

  • WEC 2024 | Energy on centre stage

    The global players in the energy sector convened in Rotterdam last week for the 26th edition of the World Energy Congress (WEC). The venue was well chosen, wit [...]

    Read more

  • Fusion world | The EU blueprint for fusion energy

    The EU Blueprint for Fusion Energy workshop, convened by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Energy, brought together key stakeholders in the fiel [...]

    Read more

  • Neutral beam injection | ELISE achieves target values for ITER

    Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Garching, Germany, have generated the ion current densities required for ITER neutral beam injecti [...]

    Read more

Of Interest

See archived entries

ITER NEWSLINE -

Farewell

Eisuke Tada's ITER odyssey

The picture is part of ITER history: taken in February 2006 in front of the ITER Joint Work Site office building in Cadarache, France, it features the "Original Six,"—the small team that was to grow over the years to staff the ITER Organization, and that numbers nearly 1,100 today.

Eisuke Tada was one of the''Original Six'' who in 2006, staffed the ITER Joint Work Site in Cadarache, France. At that time,he had already devoted almost two decades to the project and even longer to international cooperation in fusion. (Click to view larger version...)
Eisuke Tada was one of the''Original Six'' who in 2006, staffed the ITER Joint Work Site in Cadarache, France. At that time,he had already devoted almost two decades to the project and even longer to international cooperation in fusion.
Eisuke Tada was one of them, both a pioneer in the territory that had been selected for the construction of the ITER installation and a veteran, having devoted almost two decades to the project and even longer to international cooperation in fusion.

Akko Maas, who serves as Science Coordination Officer in the Office of the Director-General, was also in that original picture. On 27 April 2023, when the ITER community held a farewell event on the occasion of Eisuke Tada's retirement and return to Japan, he hailed "the gentle soul, who was firm when needed," and a "highly technically sound" colleague who was "truly committed to the ITER machine throughout all his different roles."

Speaking upon the backdrop of a photograph of the ''Original Six'', Akko Maas hailed ''the gentle soul, who was firm when needed,'' and a ''highly technically sound'' colleague who was ''truly committed to the ITER machine throughout all his different roles.'' (Click to view larger version...)
Speaking upon the backdrop of a photograph of the ''Original Six'', Akko Maas hailed ''the gentle soul, who was firm when needed,'' and a ''highly technically sound'' colleague who was ''truly committed to the ITER machine throughout all his different roles.''
ITER Director-General Pietro Barabaschi, whose path often crossed that of Eisuke Tada over the past three decades, also had many stories and remembrances to share. But what stood out beyond anecdotes was gratitude for Eisuke Tada's unflinching dedication and commitment, especially during the "difficult period" when, following the untimely passing of former Director-General Bernard Bigot, he assumed the interim role of Director-General of the ITER Organization.

Eisuke Tada's odyssey in the realm of fusion—which began in 1978 when, fresh out of university, he joined the Japanese Atomic Energy Research Institute (now the Japanese Atomic Energy Agency)—did not come to an end on 27 April. For the fusion community as a whole, it will be tempting to tap into the knowledge, experience and intimate understanding that Eisuke Tada has accumulated. In a certain way, one never retires from fusion.

return to the latest published articles