Presidency
António Carlos de Sá Fonseca was born in Lisbon in 1947. Attended Licée Francais Charles Lepierre for 11 years, having
graduated from High School in 1964.
In 1970 he graduated in Electric Engineer from Instituto Superior Técnico (IST). Following two years of research in nuclear
reactions at Laboratório Nacional de Física e Engenharia Nuclear (LFEN) which is now the Centro Tecnológico Nuclear of IST,
he received in 1972 a Fullbright Grant to work on his PhD at the University of Notre dame in the USA.
After graduation from Notre Dame in 1976 he took a two year Post Doctoral position at the University of Maryland under a
Department of Energy grant, before returning to Portugal in 1978 to become Assistant Scientist at the Instituto Nacional de
Investigação Científica (INIC); in 1980 he was promoted to Associate Scientist and in 1987 to Senior Scientist. In 1992 he
became part of the University of Lisbon research staff.
In 1981 he was given, by full majority vote of the jury, the title of "Agregação em Física" at the University of Lisbon.
During the academic year 1984/1985 he was Associate Professor at the George Washington University in the USA and in
1987/1988 he was a Research Fellow at the University of Surrey in the UK. Likewise from 1980 to 1993 he was adjunct Professor
at IST where he lectured all introductory physics courses, advanced quantum mechanics, and introduction to nuclear physics. In 1992
he was voted bye his peersFellow of the American Physical Society for "significant theoretical contributions to our understanding of few-body systems in atomic, molecular and nuclear physics”. He is, as of today, the sole Portuguese to be given this title.
In his career as a theoretical nuclear physicist working in the field of low energy nuclear reactions involving few-hadron systems he has published over 100 articles in refereed journals, 8 of which in Physical Review Letters and 52 in Physical Review A, C or D. According to ISIS citation index his articles have been cites over 1100 times by other publications, not including his own. He has also oriented two PhD students in their respective dissertations and one post doctoral fellow. His work has inspired a number of precision experiments involving three- and four-nucleon reactions where numerical exact solutions of the multi-particle Schrodinger equation can be obtained using the most sophisticated nuclear interactions together with the Coulomb repulsion between protons. His collaborative work involves researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory, The George Washington University, Duke University, Universities of Washington (Seattle), Grenoble, Hannover, Krakow, Groningen, Sendai and Tokyo.
In parallel to his scientific career he has, over the years, occupied a number of administrative positions, namely; Vice Dean of the Faculty of Science 2009-2013; Director of Complexo Interdisciplinar 1993-2003 and 2004-2009; Director of Centro Física Nuclear 1988-1992 and 2003-2009.
In March 2012 he was appointed by the Prime Minister member of the Portuguese regulatory commission for the safety of nuclear installations, COMRSIN (Comissão Reguladora para a Segurança das Instalações Nucleares).
Natureza e Composição
COMRSIN is an independent entity, functionally distinct from another body or organization with the responsibility of to use nuclear or radioactive materials, including to electricity production and radioisotope applications or to the management of spent fuel and radioactive waste.
COMRSIN aims to ensure his duties and powers of regulation and supervision independently of other powers. COMRSIN has a board of three members, from among persons of recognized merit in the academic, scientific and technical means, appointed individually by the Prime Minister, for a period of five years renewable, under proposal of Minister responsible for education and science, after consulted the Ministers of environment, spatial planning and health.
COMRSIN aims to ensure the duties assigned to him legally, defining independently the guidance of it´s activities and exercising the necessary powers of regulation and supervision.The presidency of COMRSIN is composed of three members appointed, individually, by the Prime Minister on the proposal of the Cabinet member responsible for education and science, ears Government members responsible for the areas of environment, spatial planning and health, for a period of five years, renewable, from among persons of recognized merit in the academic, scientific and technical means.
Currently, the board of COMRSIN is composed by Prof. Doctor António Fonseca as President, and by Prof. Doctor Pedroso de Lima and the Prof . Doctor Ana Arriaga as Vice – Presidents.
Mission
COMRSIN's mission is ensure, within scope of its powers, all necessary and appropriate measures to achieve a high level of safety and responsibility in civil nuclear installations, in the management of spent fuel and radioactive waste derived of civil activities, in order to protect workers and the general public against the dangers arising from ionizing radiation and to avoid imposing undue burdens on future generations.
Scope
The main responsibilities of COMRSIN are to license, supervise and regulate the activities of all civilian nuclear facility, as well as the activities and facilities management in all stages of spent fuel and radioactive waste arising from civilian applications.The COMRSIN oversees the preservation and promotion of continuous improvement of nuclear safety and the safe and responsible management of spent fuel and radioactive waste, including:
• promoting the development of necessary legislation and regulations in the fields of nuclear safety and safe and responsible management of spent fuel and radioactive waste;
• monitoring the activities and facilities, through supervising and surveillance;developing a national plan that aims to preserve and develop skills in the field of protection and nuclear and radiation safety ;
• adopting the necessary measures to protect workers, from those facilities, as well as the general population, with regard to nuclear hazards and dangers arising from ionizing radiation.
The COMRSIN shall also to provide workers and the general public, the necessary information about the safe and responsible management of spent fuel and radioactive waste, in accordance with national law and international obligations, without prejudice other interests, such as national security.
Values
COMRSIN has been committed to:
• work with accuracy effectiveness and efficiency;
• professionalism, expertise and knowledge of your team;
• the transparency of its acts;
• social responsibility that their duties and responsibilities require.
Prof. Doctor
António Sá Fonseca
President of COMRSIN