Toward a sustainable future

The founding of the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK CEN) in 1952 enabled Belgium  to establish a prominent position in the development of nuclear energy and research into peaceful nuclear applications. Initially with the support of the United States, but since  the 1960s increasingly on its own initiative, the SCK CEN - as a public utility agency - has  played a pioneering role in research into reactor technology, the fissile material cycle, the  production of radioisotopes, the storage of radioactive waste and nuclear safety.  The history of the SCK CEN illustrates the ambitions and achievements of the Belgian  nuclear program and Belgium’s enduring impact on the international stage. The book  also hones in on the wider political context, the vested interests of Belgian industry, the growing tensions between the linguistic communities, the at-times laborious European  collaboration, the consequences of state reform in Belgium, the creation of a national  science policy, and the changing perceptions towards nuclear energy in the public sphere. 

Geert Vanpaemel (b. 1955) studied physics at KU Leuven but has since applied himself  almost exclusively to the history of science. He has carried out research into the  history of science in Belgium after 1500, with specific regard to universities, scientific  policy and popularisation. He has recently published a book about the history of the  Science Faculty at KU Leuven, and together with Dirk De Bock has written about the  introduction of modern mathematics in Belgium. From 1995 to 2004 he was extraordinary  professor at Radboud University (Nijmegen), occupying the Simon Stevin Chair  for the history of science. Until his emeritus in 2020, he taught the history of science  and science communication at KU Leuven.