16–17 September 2025
IAEA Headquarters, Vienna, Austria

TENTATIVE PROGRAMME

TUESDAY, 16 SEPTEMBER 2025

9:30-11:00     Opening Session

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi will open the Scientific Forum 2025 with high-level speakers. They will explore how nuclear science and technology innovations can support effective and sustainable management of the world’s water systems.

H.E. Mr Maizama Abdoulaye, Minister of Environment, Hydraulics and Sanitation, Niger 

H.E. Mr ángel Manuel Manero Campos, Minister of Agrarian Development and Irrigation, Peru

Mr Shan Zhongde, Chairman, China Atomic Energy Authority

Ms Anne-Isabelle étienvre, Chairman, French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission

Ms Celeste Saulo, Secretary-General, World Meteorological Organization  

Mr Gonzalo Alfonso Gutiérrez Reinel, Secretary General, Andean Community

11:00-11:15     Break

11:15-12:30     Session 1: Strengthening Water Resilience and Global Sustainability

This session will explore five key accelerators — data and information, capacity development, governance, financing, and innovation — for advancing global water sustainability, while highlighting the role of nuclear sciences and technologies. 

Ms Karina Meredith, Director, Environmental Research and Technology, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO)

Mr Ricardo Sanchez-Murillo, Former Coordinator of the Stable Isotopes Research Group, National University of Costa Rica

Mr Khalid Khasawneh, Commissioner for Nuclear Power Reactors, Jordan Atomic Energy Commission

Mr Eddy Moors, Rector, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, Kingdom of the Netherlands

Mr Jay Famiglietti, Global Futures Professor, Arizona State University, United States of America

12:30-13:30     Lunch break

13:30-15:00     Session 2: Quality Unknown — the Invisible Water Crisis

This session will address the accelerating global decline of water quality and will explore how nuclear and radiation based technologies can help track, reduce and treat pollutants such as microplastics and pathogens.

Ms Asunción Romanelli, Professor, Institute for Marine and Coastal Research, Argentina

Ms Sueli Borrely, Radiation Applications, Nuclear and Energy Research Institute, Brazil

Mr Gilbert Nijimbere, Lecturer, University of Burundi

Mr Martin Elsner, Full Professor of Analytical Chemistry and Water Chemistry, Technical University of Munich, Germany

Ms Viviana Re, Associate Professor, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Pisa, Italy

Ms Yurina Sekine, Principal Researcher, Japan Atomic Energy Agency

Mr Bum Soo Han, Chief Consultant, Bright Future Technologies Inc., Republic of Korea

Mr Christian Stamm, Deputy Director, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology 

15:00-15:30     Break

15:30-17:00     Session 3: Climate and Hydrological Variability

This session will examine how climate variability exerts significant pressure on global water systems, increasing the frequency of extreme weather events, and will highlight the role of the IAEA’s data networks in assessing these changes and guiding actions to sustain and optimize water resources. 

H.E. Mr Mohamed Nasr, Permanent Representative of Egypt to the International Organizations in Vienna

Mr David Farrell, Principal, The Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology, Barbados

Ms Tricia Stadnyk, Professor and Canada Research Chair, University of Calgary, Canada

Ms Jana ólavsdóttir, Geologist, Faroese Geological Survey, Denmark

Mr Robert Vautard, Senior Scientist, French National Centre for Scientific Research

Mr Kiattipong Kamdee, Nuclear Scientist, Thailand Institute of Nuclear Technology

Mr Chris Soulsby, Professor of Hydrology, University of Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom

Ms Birgit Vogel, Executive Secretary, International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River

WEDNESDAY, 17 SEPTEMBER 2025

09:30-11:00     Session 4: The Role of the IAEA

By building capacity, facilitating international cooperation and delivering technical expertise, the IAEA helps Member States address growing water challenges. This session will reflect on how the IAEA helps Member States manage and protect water resources through initiatives such as Nuclear Technology for Controlling Plastic Pollution (NUTEC Plastics) and the Global Water Analysis Laboratory (GlowAL) Network, as well as coordinated research projects and technical cooperation. 

Mr Moncef Benmansour, Director of Studies and Scientific Research, National Centre for Energy, Sciences and Nuclear Techniques, Morocco

Ms Saira Butt, Deputy Chief Scientist, Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology

Mr Charles Darwin Racadio, Senior Science Research Specialist, Philippine Nuclear Research Institute

Ms Najiba Chkir, Dean Faculty of Sciences, University of Sfax, Tunisia

Ms Christine Mukwaya, Head of the Groundwater Monitoring and Assessment Section, Ministry of Water and Environment, Uganda

Ms Celina Horak, Section Head, Radiochemistry and Radiation Technology (RCRT) Section, IAEA

Ms Jodie Miller, Section Head, Isotope Hydrology Section, IAEA

11:00-11:30     Break

11:30-13:00     Closing Session: Partnerships and Resource Mobilization 

The closing session will feature a high-level panel summarizing findings and discussing steps to maximize nuclear and radiological techniques in water management, including strategies for partnerships and resource mobilization. It will address global water crises, their impact and the IAEA’s role in tackling these issues, emphasizing the importance of nuclear innovation and sustainable financing to support these interventions.

Ms Najat Mokhtar, Deputy Director General, Department of Nuclear Sciences and Application

Mr Mohamed CBC Diatta, Senegal's Sherpa for 2026 UN Water Conference, Ministry of Water and Sanitation Senegal

Ms Tatiana Molcean, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary, UN Economic Commission for Europe

Mr Winston Yu, Water Practice Manager, World Bank

Ms María Jimena Durán, Senior Executive for Global Partnerships, Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF)

Ms Lina Escobar-Rangel, Senior Energy Specialist, Interamerican Development Bank