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News Release

Number: 03-46
Released: June 4, 2003
Contact: Diane Greenberg, 631 344-2347
Writer: Jane Koropsak

Brookhaven Lab Physicist Robert A. Bari Wins 2003 American Nuclear Society “Tommy” Thompson Award

UPTON, NY - Robert A. Bari, a senior physicist at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory, has been awarded the 2003 American Nuclear Society (ANS) “Tommy” Thompson Award. The award is sponsored by the Nuclear Installation Safety Division of ANS. Bari will receive the prize, which consists of a monetary award and appropriate plaque, at the ANS annual meeting held in San Diego, June 4.

The award was established in 1980 in memory of Theos J. Thompson, a pioneer who defined world reactor safety. The award credits Bari “for his outstanding contributions to the field of nuclear installation safety and his outstanding wisdom and direction to key elements of the world of nuclear safety activities.”

“For almost 30 years I have been part of the Brookhaven team that develops methods and performs probabilistic risk assessments for a wide range of nuclear technologies. I am proud to be part of the world-wide collaboration that established, implemented, and maintains nuclear reactor safety, and I am appreciative to Brookhaven for their continued support of such programs,” said Bari.

Bari has been involved in the design and safety assessments of complex, high-technology facilities since he joined the applied programs at the Laboratory in 1974. He has worked on projects and issues regarding nuclear safety and nonproliferation technologies, nuclear waste management, development of advanced nuclear reactors, and other related technologies.

During the 1980s, at the request of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Bari created and led a team of experts in the area of probabilistic risk assessment (PRA). This team expanded PRA methodologies in areas of importance to safety of nuclear power plants. In addition to his work for the NRC, Bari led a four-laboratory team in a year-long evaluation of the impact of fuel enrichment on the performance of the Advanced Neutron Source, formerly planned for operation at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. His current research involves energy resources, national security, and reliability of the national electrical grid.

Bari earned an A.B. in physics in 1965 from Rutgers University and a Ph.D. from Brandeis University in 1970. During his tenure at Brookhaven, Bari was chair of the former Department of Advanced Technology and served as the Interim Associate Laboratory Director for Energy, Environment and National Security. He is a fellow of the ANS, and has served on its board of directors and is a past chair of the ANS planning committee. Bari now chairs all the risk standards development activities sponsored by the ANS. He has served as president of the International Association for Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management. He was also a member of the board of directors for the Long Island Museum of Science and Technology and the Long Island Forum for Technology. Bari has lectured internationally on risk assessment and nuclear safety, and authored over 100 papers and key reports in these areas.

> High-resolution, 300 dpi jpeg image of Robert Bari.

The U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory conducts research in the physical, biomedical, and environmental sciences, as well as in energy technologies. Brookhaven also builds and operates major facilities available to university, industrial, and government scientists. The Laboratory is managed by Brookhaven Science Associates, a limited liability company founded by Stony Brook University and Battelle, a nonprofit applied science and technology organization.