ASTM International Committee C26 on Nuclear Fuel Cycle has recognized Bertrand Morel, Ph.D., research and development deputy director at AREVA in Pierrelatte, France, with the Award of Merit and honorary title of fellow.

The Award of Merit is ASTM’s highest organizational recognition for individual contributions to standards activities. The committee noted Morel’s outstanding leadership and commitment to the development of international specifications and test methods related to nuclear fuel. 

An ASTM member since 1995, Morel is C26 second vice chairman and also chairs Subcommittee C26.02 on Fuel and Fertile Material Specifications. He has served on the ASTM board of directors since 2014. Honored by C26 with the Award of Appreciation in 2000 and 2014, Morel also received the Harlan J. Anderson Award in 2011 for outstanding contributions to the successful operation of Committee C26 over a number of years.

AREVA is a multinational industrial conglomerate that focuses on nuclear power and renewable energy. In the field of UF6 conversion, Morel has implemented programs on electrolysis, fluorination reactors, and uranium purification and effluent treatment, all of which are now being used in a new plant design.

Before assuming his current position, Morel was head of the analytical laboratory at the Comurhex Pierrelatte plant from 1995 to 2001. He previously had been an R&D scientist for the Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique, Grenoble, France, and an R&D scientist for Pechiney, Voreppe, France.

Morel earned his Ph.D. in material science from the University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France, and his master’s in analytical chemistry and a bachelor’s degree from the École Supérieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles de la Ville de Paris (the City of Paris Industrial Physics and Chemistry Higher Educational Institution), Paris, France. He holds seven patents and has written several publications.

ASTM PR Contact: Erin K. Brennan, tel: +1.610.832.9602; ebrennan@astm.org