On Tuesday, 21 May 2019, DDG Massimo Aparo met with the United Nations – Nuclear Young Generation (UN-NYG) community in Vienna as part of the “Talk to the DDG” series.
DDG Aparo spoke about the mission of IAEA Safeguards – generally, to draw credible Safeguards conclusions across Member States and to verify commitments to peaceful uses of nuclear technology. He presented an overview of current and historical Safeguards operations, illustrating the increasing number of nuclear facilities under IAEA Safeguards. In addition, the UN-NYG participants learned about the increase of on-site verification and the deployment of technology needed to monitor peaceful nuclear activities as a result of this growth. Safeguards is adapting its scope and updating its technologies in response, such as in the fields of environmental sampling and satellite imagery analysis, as well as new software platforms in parallel with the continued efforts of Safeguards Inspectors. It is expected that more challenges and solutions will emerge in the future.
DDG Aparo also spoke of his experiences studying Nuclear Engineering at the Sapienza University of Rome and his previous work for the European Space Agency. Amongst his positions at the IAEA, DDG Aparo headed the IAEA’s Tokyo Regional Office, overseeing Safeguards operations in Japan and upon his return to Vienna Headquarters he became the Director of the Office for Verification in Iran. In 2018, he was appointed Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Safeguards.
The advice of DDG Aparo for a successful career is to take opportunities and to not be afraid of limited risk as long as the risks and benefits have been fully considered. He also advised that the key to success is not only planning and persistence, but that there is always an element of luck.
The UN-NYG community thanks DDG Aparo for his time to speak with young professionals and answering their questions, in addition to the informative account of his professional journey and the advice which was shared. In the future, more “Talk to the DDG” events are scheduled to take place and those interested can register as a UN-NYG member (free of charge) at www.unnyg.org.
Article written by,
Jonathan Beaumont
UN-NYG Communications Officer
