Taking the Long View in a Time of Great Uncertainty: 60 Years in the Making

Like many organizations across the world that became engaged in “things nuclear” at the beginning of the nuclear age, the INMM is celebrating a decadal anniversary - its 60th year in 2019 as a leading international professional society for the stewardship of nuclear materials and related technologies to enhance global security. In Palm Desert, California, this next July, we will also be celebrating our 60th Annual Meeting.1 One of those “other” organizations the Institute has worked with since its early beginnings is the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The IAEA was established as an autonomous organization on July 29, 1957, through its own international treaty, and reports to both the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council. The collaboration between the INMM and its members over the decades with the IAEA has helped to create a future that benefits from nuclear energy.2 Just as the 60th IAEA General Conference was held in 2016,3 and that Institution celebrated their decades-long history of successes, it behooves our membership to reflect back on the scientific, technological and policy challenges that have arisen in these past decades, and what the Institute has succeeded in accomplishing as a member of the international community.