Karl Wirtz Prize 2013 Awarded to Andreas Havenith from RWTH Aachen

Dipl.-Ing. Andreas Havenith from the RWTH Aachen Institute of Nuclear Fuel Cycle, INBK for short, is this year's recipient of the Karl Wirtz Prize from the Kerntechnische Gesellschaft e.V. (KTG). The Karl Wirtz Award is endowed to promote advances in science and technology in the field of peaceful use of nuclear energy. The KTG awards the prize every three years to young scientists or engineers for outstanding scientific achievements in the field of nuclear technology or related disciplines.

 

Andreas Havenith studied Mechanical Engineering with a focus on Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Physics at the FH Aachen, in Jülich. In 2007 he was awarded the badge of honor from the FH Aachen for his academic achievements. After completing his studies, he worked for the Federal Office of Radiation Protection in the product control office for radioactive waste at Forschungszentrum Jülich till 2010.

Since 2010, Mr. Havenith has been completing doctoral studies at the INBK on a non-destructive measuring process accompanized by an analytic evaluation for identifying and qualifying toxic elements and substances. Such a non-destructive analysis process is indispensable when handling old waste with insufficient documentation. As part of a joint project with the Institute for Energy and Climate Research, IEK, at Forschungszentrum Jülich, Andreas Havenith designed and built a facility that makes material analysis of waste products possible.

He is also involved with different research projects, that deal with a transfer of nuclear technology measuring methods in conventional industrial fields, such as recycling electrical waste or quality control in the metal and electrical industry.

In addition to his scientific work, Mr. Havenith founded the Aachen Institute for Nuclear Training, AiNT, with Prof. Bruno Thomauske and Dr. John Kettler in 2011. The goal of the institute is use a career-accompanying further training program to bundle and network the skills of the nuclear technology industry, teaching and research institutions, and atomic ordinance control and permit authorities.