Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique
Encyclopedia
The Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission) or CEA, is a French
“public establishment related to industrial and commercial activities” whose mission is to develop all applications of nuclear power
, both civilian
and military
. CEA is headed by a board headed by the general administrator (currently Bernard Bigot), advised by the high-commissioner for atomic energy (currently Catherine Cesarsky
). The missions of the CEA are equivalent to those of the United States Department of Energy
. Its yearly budget amounts to 3.9 billion euros and its permanent staff is over 15,000 persons.
CEA was created in 1945; since then, the successive high-commissioners have been
Frédéric Joliot-Curie
, Francis Perrin
, Jacques Yvon, Jean Teillac, Raoul Dautry
, René Pellat, Bernard Bigot and the incumbent.
It conducts fundamental and applied research into many areas, including the design of nuclear reactor
s, the manufacturing of integrated circuits, the use of radionucleides for curing illnesses, seismology
and tsunami
propagation, the safety of computerized systems
, etc.
It has one of the top 10
supercomputer
s in the world, the Tera-100.
It is divided into 5 directions, or divisions:
In December 2009, French President Nicolas Sarkozy
declared that CEA, at this time named Commissariat à l’énergie atomique (Commission for Atomic Energy)should change its name to Commissariat à l’énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (Commission for Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies); this change took effect on March 10th 2010, when the decision was published in the Journal officiel.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
“public establishment related to industrial and commercial activities” whose mission is to develop all applications of nuclear power
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
, both civilian
Civilian
A civilian under international humanitarian law is a person who is not a member of his or her country's armed forces or other militia. Civilians are distinct from combatants. They are afforded a degree of legal protection from the effects of war and military occupation...
and military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
. CEA is headed by a board headed by the general administrator (currently Bernard Bigot), advised by the high-commissioner for atomic energy (currently Catherine Cesarsky
Catherine Cesarsky
Catherine Jeanne Cesarsky is a French astronomer currently residing in Germany, known for her successful research activities in several central areas of modern astrophysics. She was formerly president of the International Astronomical Union...
). The missions of the CEA are equivalent to those of the United States Department of Energy
United States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...
. Its yearly budget amounts to 3.9 billion euros and its permanent staff is over 15,000 persons.
CEA was created in 1945; since then, the successive high-commissioners have been
Frédéric Joliot-Curie
Frédéric Joliot-Curie
Jean Frédéric Joliot-Curie , born Jean Frédéric Joliot, was a French physicist and Nobel laureate.-Early years:...
, Francis Perrin
Francis Perrin
Francis Perrin was a French physicist,the son of Nobel prize-winning physicist Jean Perrin.- Physicist :Francis Perrin was born in Paris and attended École Normale Supérieure in Paris.In 1928 he obtained a doctorate in mathematical sciences from the faculté des sciences of Paris, based upon a...
, Jacques Yvon, Jean Teillac, Raoul Dautry
Raoul Dautry
Raoul Dautry was a French engineer, business leader and politician. He was born on 16 September 1880 at Montluçon in the department of Allier; he died on 21 August 1951 at Lourmarin in the department of Vaucluse.- Education and career :...
, René Pellat, Bernard Bigot and the incumbent.
It conducts fundamental and applied research into many areas, including the design of nuclear reactor
Nuclear reactor
A nuclear reactor is a device to initiate and control a sustained nuclear chain reaction. Most commonly they are used for generating electricity and for the propulsion of ships. Usually heat from nuclear fission is passed to a working fluid , which runs through turbines that power either ship's...
s, the manufacturing of integrated circuits, the use of radionucleides for curing illnesses, seismology
Seismology
Seismology is the scientific study of earthquakes and the propagation of elastic waves through the Earth or through other planet-like bodies. The field also includes studies of earthquake effects, such as tsunamis as well as diverse seismic sources such as volcanic, tectonic, oceanic,...
and tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
propagation, the safety of computerized systems
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
, etc.
It has one of the top 10
TOP500
The TOP500 project ranks and details the 500 most powerful known computer systems in the world. The project was started in 1993 and publishes an updated list of the supercomputers twice a year...
supercomputer
Supercomputer
A supercomputer is a computer at the frontline of current processing capacity, particularly speed of calculation.Supercomputers are used for highly calculation-intensive tasks such as problems including quantum physics, weather forecasting, climate research, molecular modeling A supercomputer is a...
s in the world, the Tera-100.
It is divided into 5 directions, or divisions:
- the division of nuclear energy (DEN);
- the division of technologicalTechnologyTechnology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
research (DRT); - the division of life sciencesLife sciencesThe life sciences comprise the fields of science that involve the scientific study of living organisms, like plants, animals, and human beings. While biology remains the centerpiece of the life sciences, technological advances in molecular biology and biotechnology have led to a burgeoning of...
(DSV); - the division of sciences of matterMatterMatter is a general term for the substance of which all physical objects consist. Typically, matter includes atoms and other particles which have mass. A common way of defining matter is as anything that has mass and occupies volume...
(DSM); - the division of military applications (DAM), which builds the nuclear weapons of the French militaryMilitary of FranceThe French Armed Forces encompass the French Army, the French Navy, the French Air Force and the National Gendarmerie. The President of the Republic heads the armed forces, with the title "chef des armées" . The President is the supreme authority for military matters and is the sole official who...
and designs the power plants of the nuclear submarines of the French NavyFrench NavyThe French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...
In December 2009, French President Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....
declared that CEA, at this time named Commissariat à l’énergie atomique (Commission for Atomic Energy)should change its name to Commissariat à l’énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (Commission for Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies); this change took effect on March 10th 2010, when the decision was published in the Journal officiel.
Civilian research centres
- CEA SaclaySaclay Nuclear Research CentreThe Saclay Nuclear Research Centre in the Essonne department of northern France is one of 9 laboratories belonging to the CEA. It is the administrative headquarters of the CEA and also hosts a laboratory....
, EssonneEssonneEssonne is a French department in the region of Île-de-France. It is named after the Essonne River.It was formed on 1 January 1968 when Seine-et-Oise was split into smaller departments.- History :...
(48.725135°N 2.150346°W, headquarters since 2006) and the associated National Laboratory GANILGANILThe Grand Accélérateur National d’Ions Lourds , or Large Heavy Ion National Accelerator, is a French national nuclear physics research center in Caen. The facility consists primarily of two serialised synchrocyclotrons.- See also :Similar facilities:...
at CaenCaenCaen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....
- CalvadosCalvadosThe French department of Calvados is part of the region of Basse-Normandie in Normandy. It takes its name from a cluster of rocks off the English Channel coast... - CEA Fontenay-aux-Roses, Fontenay-aux-RosesFontenay-aux-RosesFontenay-aux-Roses is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.École Normale Supérieure was a girls school located in the area....
, Hauts-de-SeineHauts-de-SeineHauts-de-Seine is designated number 92 of the 101 départements in France. It is part of the Île-de-France region, and covers the western inner suburbs of Paris... - CEA Grenoble, GrenobleGrenobleGrenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère...
, IsèreIsèreIsère is a department in the Rhône-Alpes region in the east of France named after the river Isère.- History :Isère is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from part of the former province of Dauphiné... - CEA Cadarache, CadaracheCadaracheThe CEA Cadarache facility is a French scientific research centre which specialises in nuclear energy research. It is located in the commune of Saint-Paul-lès-Durance, Bouches-du-Rhône, in the southern region of Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur...
, Bouches-du-RhôneBouches-du-RhôneBouches-du-Rhône is a department in the south of France named after the mouth of the Rhône River. It is the most populous department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Its INSEE and postal code is 13.-History of the department:... - CEA Valrhô, MarcouleMarcouleMarcoule Nuclear Site is a nuclear plant in the Chusclan and Codolet communes, near Bagnols-sur-Cèze in the Gard department of France, which is in the touristic, wine and agricultural Côtes-du-Rhône region...
and PierrelattePierrelattePierrelatte is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France.-Population:-References:*...
, GardGardGard is a département located in southern France in the Languedoc-Roussillon region.The department is named after the River Gard, although the formerly Occitan name of the River Gard, Gardon, has been replacing the traditional French name in recent decades, even among French speakers.- History...
Research centres for military applications
- CEA DAM Île-de-France, Bruyères-le-ChâtelBruyères-le-ChâtelBruyères-le-Châtel is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France.-History:A nunnery was founded at Bruyères-le-Châtel by a noblewoman named Clotilde...
, EssonneEssonneEssonne is a French department in the region of Île-de-France. It is named after the Essonne River.It was formed on 1 January 1968 when Seine-et-Oise was split into smaller departments.- History :... - CEA Cesta, GirondeGirondeFor the Revolutionary party, see Girondists.Gironde is a common name for the Gironde estuary, where the mouths of the Garonne and Dordogne rivers merge, and for a department in the Aquitaine region situated in southwest France.-History:...
- CEA Gramat
- CEA Valduc, Côte-d'OrCôte-d'OrCôte-d'Or is a department in the eastern part of France.- History :Côte-d'Or is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was formed from part of the former province of Burgundy.- Geography :...
- CEA Le Ripault, Indre-et-LoireIndre-et-LoireIndre-et-Loire is a department in west-central France named after the Indre and the Loire rivers.-History:Indre-et-Loire is one of the original 83 départements created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
External links
- CEA official website (in English)
- CEA official website (main page, in French)