Adrian Paterson

Adrian "Adi" Paterson is a South African scientist and engineer best known for his work on Pebble Bed modular reactor research and development. He was appointed CEO of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) in 2009.

Career

Paterson was educated in South Africa, where he obtained a Bachelor in Science and Chemistry and a PhD in Engineering from the University of Cape Town.

He worked as General Manager of Business Development Operations at the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor Company in South Africa prior to his appointment at ANSTO. The Company downsized significantly following his departure. In 2010, Public Enterprises Minister Barbara Hogan described the project in Parliament saying that "between 2005 and 2009, it became increasingly clear that, based on the direct-cycle electricity design, PBMR's potential investor and customer market was severely restricted, and it was unable to acquire either [investors or customers]."

He is a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa and the South African Academy of Engineering, a fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (AATSE) and a fellow of Engineers Australia.

He was recognised by Engineers Australia's Sydney division as professional engineer of the year in 2012.

He worked as an advisor on the TV documentary series Uranium - Twisting the Dragon's Tail (2015).

Paterson is an advocate for nuclear industrial development in Australia. In 2015 he told the Australian Financial Review that "The social licence is an issue, but the science and technology is not." Has also stated that they are likely to be synergies between unconventional gas and waste storage interests.

In 2015, he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales and was called before the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission in South Australia as an expert witness. He spoke on the topic of Nuclear Education and Skills Development.