Simon Middlemas has been appointed as the new Director of the nuclear decommissioning site at Dounreay in succession to Norman Harrison. Simon has been Acting Director since August 2006 and prior to that he was Deputy Director. He joined Dounreay in 2004 as New Build Project Sponsor.
Welcoming the appointment, Norman Harrison , UKAEA's new Chief Executive,
said: "I am personally very pleased that Simon has been chosen as my successor. He has an exceptional grasp of every aspect of decommissioning at Dounreay and is totally committed to the site's success. He has already made a major contribution to Dounreay's new focus on project delivery and the recent site restructuring programme to prepare the site for competition. I am sure his appointment will be widely welcomed by the workforce and the community of Caithness."
Simon's career background is in the Royal Navy which he joined at Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth as a Midshipman in 1976. He then gained a degree in Electrical Engineering from the Royal Naval Engineering College and a Post Graduate Diploma in Nuclear Science and Technology. He joined the nuclear powered Polaris missile submarine, HMS Renown in 1982 followed by other sea jobs in submarines and time ashore working on their design and safety aspects. Prior to joining UKAEA in 2004 he was Naval Superintendent at the Vulcan Reactor Test Facility adjacent to Dounreay, for which he was awarded the OBE in 2003.
Simon Middlemas added: "I have long recognised Dounreay, with its dedicated and talented workforce and supply chain, as a site with great potential to establish the area's reputation in nuclear decommissioning internationally. We have a challenging time ahead in the run up to competition, and to succeed we must continue to drive up safety standards and maintain the great improvement in project delivery. I look forward to
the future knowing that Dounreay and Caithness will be recognised well beyond the Highlands as a lead site for decommissioning expertise."
