Tribute to Didier Gambier

Like the members of any ordinary family, they had argued and finally agreed again. Nevertheless, at this week's ITER Organization-Domestic Agency meeting it was time to say goodbye to Didier Gambier, the outgoing Director of the European Domestic Agency Fusion for Energy. On 11 January, the Governing Board of Fusion for Energy had appointed Frank Briscoe as Director ad interim.

ITER Principal Deputy Director-General Norbert Holtkamp thanked Didier Gambier for his contribution to the ITER Project on behalf of the ITER Organization and all the Heads of Domestic Agencies participating in the meeting. Gambier in return wished the panel "a lot of strength and good luck" for the future.

Didier Gambier is one of the founding fathers of the ITER Organization. The physicist started his career at the CEA and then moved on to JET, where he became advisor to the then Director Paul-Henry Rebut, before both moved on to San Diego. After having spent almost ten years in Moscow working for the International Science and Technology Center (ISTC), Gambier returned to Brussels to finalize the negotiations for the ITER Agreement on behalf of the Europe Union and to set up the ITER Organization and the European Domestic Agency in Barcelona, of which he became Director in July 2007.

Didier Gambier will take up a new position with the European Commission in Brussels.