Bertrand Morel, Ph.D., research and development manager for the front-end chemistry business unit of AREVA in Pierrelatte, France, has been elected to the ASTM International board of directors for a three-year term.

An ASTM International member since 1995, Morel is second vice chairman of Committee C26 on Nuclear Fuel Cycle, where he is also chairman of Subcommittee C26.02 on Fuel and Fertile Material Specifications. Honored by C26 with an Award of Appreciation in 2000, 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.

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. He has initiated work on promising conversion routes and has created a joint R&D facility with the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) to study uranium fluoride chemistry.

Before assuming his role at AREVA, a multinational industrial conglomerate that focuses on nuclear power and renewable energy, 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 Comissariat 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.

Click here to see the full list of the 2014 ASTM board of directors.

ASTM PR Contact: Erin Brennan, Phone: 610-832-9602; ebrennan@astm.org   

Release #9553