Lino Guzzella is new President of the Board of Directors
The members of the Nagra Cooperative elected Lino Guzzella as the new President of the Board of Directors at today’s annual general meeting. Lino Guzzella is a professor in the Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich (ETH Zürich). He was born in Zürich in 1957. In 1981, he graduated with a university degree in mechanical engineering and then obtained his doctorate at the ETH. Subsequently, he worked for Sulzer AG as team leader in industrial research and later took over as head of RD&D in the mechatronics department of Hilti AG in Liechtenstein. Guzzella then devoted himself to his academic career: since 1999, he has been a full professor at the ETH Zürich and was its rector from 2012 to 2014 and president from 2015 to 2018.
“I am looking forward to continue moving ahead with the important deep geological disposal project together with the members of the Cooperative and the entire Nagra team”, states Guzzella. Nagra is facing exciting times: “We expect to propose a site for the deep geological repository in 2022 and, around two years later, we will submit a general licence application to the Federal Council.”
In his inaugural speech, Guzzella thanked his predecessor, Corina Eichenberger, and the resigning CEO, Thomas Ernst, for their “outstanding achievements” and added, “I look forward to the collaboration with the new CEO, Matthias Braun, who took office in early May.”
“With Nagra, I am handing over an organisation that is on track”
Over the last seven years, former National Council member Corina Eichenberger presided over the Board of Directors. At the annual general meeting, Eichenberger looked back at her term of office. The staff are not only highly competent but are also devoted to their work on the deep geological repository. “All of them are highly motivated to contribute to this task of national importance”, says Eichenberger. For her, the most important highlight during her term of office was the conclusion of Stage 2 of the site selection process. “I am pleased to hand over to Lino Guzzella an organisation that is on track”, Eichenberger says in conclusion.
The representatives of the Nagra Cooperative discharged the Board of Directors.
Further information: Patrick Studer, Head of Nagra’s Media Office, 076 579 36 50 patrick.studer@nagra.ch
According to Swiss nuclear energy legislation, the producers of radioactive waste are responsible for its safe management and disposal. In 1972, the Federal Government and the nuclear power plant operators set up the National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste (Nagra), which has its headquarters in Wettingen AG, to perform this task. Nagra is Switzerland’s national technical competence centre in the field of deep geological disposal of radioactive waste.
Out of a strong sense of responsibility for the long-term protection of man and the environment, 130 employees are involved daily in performing this important work. The high level of competence is secured by targeted research programmes in two Swiss underground rock laboratories and intensive international collaboration.