Christopher Watson

Christopher Watson is Chairman of the British Pugwash Group; Emeritus Fellow, Merton College, Oxford University [formerly: Research in Theoretical Plasma Physics, Culham Laboratory/Oxford University; Business Development Manager in Central & Eastern Europe for AEA Technology; Senior Consultant to the UK/Russian Closed Nuclear Cities Partnership; Head of Project Control Office, Joint European Torus Project]

Dr Christopher Watson had a career spanning 35 years in the UK nuclear industry, including 17 years at Culham, working on Controlled Fusion research (culminating in 5 years on the JET project). He then worked as a research manager, first in Offshore Technology and then in Nuclear Robotics, before becoming the Business Development Manager for AEA Technology in Russia, a task which involved developing collaborative programmes with Russian colleagues in the management of the nuclear legacy of the Former Soviet Union. Following his retirement in 2002, he has been a consultant to the UK government in a range of aid programmes, including its programme on the nuclear legacy in NW Russia (nuclear submarines and their spent fuel and radwaste) and more recently in the Closed Nuclear Cities Partnership programme. He has participated in Pugwash meetings since 1969, and was elected to the British Pugwash Executive Committee in 2002, becoming its chair in 2011. In that role, he has helped British Pugwash to diversify into Energy Policy, and has been encouraging the UK to develop a more coordinated approach to Nuclear Disarmament, bringing together the expertise within government establishments, NGOs and academia.