Prof. Andrzej Strupczewski has died

It is with great regret that we have received the news of the death of dr. eng. Andrzej Strupczewski, Prof. NCBJ, an outstanding nuclear power specialist, a respected nuclear safety expert and a tireless populariser of nuclear power knowledge.

Throughout his professional life, Professor Andrzej Strupczewski was not only a respected expert on nuclear power, but also an active participant in debates on its safety and future. He invariably strived to dispel myths and reliably inform the public about the role of nuclear power in the modern world. Thanks to his vast experience and commitment, he took part in key scientific and advisory projects influencing the development of nuclear energy in Poland and abroad. His didactic and popularisation activities have made him one of the most recognisable voices in discussions on the safety and efficiency of nuclear technologies in Poland, as well as abroad.

Scientific achievements and activities of Professor Andrzej Strupczewski

Professor Andrzej Strupczewski was a graduate of the Warsaw University of Technology, where he obtained the degree of Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering with a specialisation in nuclear power engineering in 1960. In 1962, he completed a course in reactor engineering at the Institut national des sciences et techniques nucléaires in Saclay, France, and a year later a one-year course in nuclear engineering at Columbia University in New York. He received his PhD in 1969 and was appointed associate professor at the Institute of Nuclear Research in 1975. In 2010, he was appointed professor at the POLATOM Institute for Atomic Energy.

The Professor began his scientific career in 1959 at the Institute of Nuclear Research in Świerk. He was instrumental in raising the power of the EWA reactor from 2 to 10 MW, he also worked actively on the start-up of the MARIA research reactor and was the Reactor Technology Start-up Manager in July 1974. From 1975 to 1983, he was Head of the Reactor Engineering Department, conducting research on heat transfer in nuclear reactors and developing calculation codes for safety analyses of WWER reactors. From 1983 to 1993 he was Deputy Director of the Institute of Atomic Energy for Reactor Safety Research, directing international research on WWER fuel safety and safety analyses for WWER-440 reactors.

From 1993 to 1999, he worked as a senior specialist (grade P5 – highest) at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, where he was involved in, among other things, safety assessments of WWER reactors, comparisons of safety levels of nuclear and conventional power, and directed the programme for assessing the effects of small doses of radiation and air pollutants emitted in electricity generation. He has participated in safety assessment missions of nuclear power plants in Central and Eastern Europe.

From 1999, he was associated with the Institute of Atomic Energy (now the National Centre for Nuclear Research, NCBJ), serving as chairman of the Nuclear Safety Commission. During this period, he conducted analyses of safety reports on the MARIA reactor, spent fuel, thermal problems in the reactor core, and modifications to reactor systems.

In 2010, he worked again for the IAEA to finalise the TECDOC technical paper on the release of fission products from a nuclear power plant with a PWR or BWR reactor in case of design failures. In 2011-2012, as part of the ‘stress testing’ exercise following the Fukushima accident, he carried out a safety assessment of the Kozloduy 3-4 Nuclear Power Plant as the lead expert invited by Bulgaria. In turn, he worked again for the IAEA in 2008-2009 as part of a team of five international experts in the safety analysis of four reactor designs proposed for construction in the UK (EPR, AP1000, ESBWR and ACR).

In addition, between 1986 and 2007, he carried out 30 nuclear safety missions to nuclear power plants and research reactors and to train specialists in 16 countries (such as Armenia, Bulgaria, China, Czech Republic, Egypt, Finland, Iraq, Iran, Russia, Romania, Slovakia, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, USA, Hungary). On the part of the International Energy Agency, he also participated in a mission to Slovakia for the evaluation of various branches of the Slovak energy industry.

In parallel, from 2001 to 2006, Professor Andrzej Strupczewski worked as a European Commission expert on reactor safety. For the TACIS programme (Technical Assistance for Commonwealth of Independent States), he carried out, among others:

• an analysis of the safety upgrade at the Balakovo NPP and an assessment of further work needed, based on the Green Paper “Safety issues” developed earlier with his participation while working at the IAEA;
• an analysis of the use of TACIS funds by the nuclear power plants in Russia, Ukraine and Armenia under the so-called OSA – On Site Assistance – programme, i.e. a programme to assist nuclear power plants from European Union countries to power plants in the former Soviet Union countries (CIS);
• an analysis of the effectiveness of assistance from nuclear regulatory organisations from European Union countries to nuclear regulatory authorities in Russia, Ukraine and Armenia, the so-called 2 2 programme – i.e. a programme of assistance from nuclear power plants from EU countries to power plants in CIS countries and from EU nuclear regulatory authorities to nuclear regulatory organisations in CIS countries;
• as well as an analysis of TSOs (Technical Support Organisations) in EU countries (27 organisations) in terms of their ability to assist nuclear supervision in Russia, Ukraine and Armenia.

In parallel, he also worked for the Austrian government as an expert preparing safety analyses of the Temelin NPP from 2001 to 2007, and from 2009 to 2016 safety analyses of the Mochovce NPP. For Temelin, he led the qualification of Temelin NPP systems, structures and components for emergency conditions, the non-destructive testing of the primary circuit and the study of Temelin NPP’s resistance to severe accidents. For each of these topics, he developed his own analyses and compared the results with information from the Czech side, after which he presented his conclusions to the Austrian Ministry of the Environment. All three topics were concluded with positive conclusions and, despite Austria’s generally negative attitude towards nuclear power, the conclusions presented by Professor Strupczewski were adopted at a meeting of a committee of the Austrian Parliament in October 2007.

Between 2001 and 2004, he also carried out safety analyses of the modifications made to the Kozloduy nuclear power plant, followed by an analysis of the possibility of increasing its safety so that it could withstand a rupture failure of the maximum diameter primary circuit pipeline.

Professor Strupczewski also used his extensive experience to promote nuclear power as a safe and environmentally friendly energy source. He recounted how, while hiking in the Jizera Mountains, he observed the destruction of forests caused by air pollution resulting from the burning of coal. Among other things, these experiences led him to become an ardent supporter of nuclear power, a source that provides safe and clean electricity at an affordable price.

In 1992, in an attempt to dispel the myth of allegedly contaminated water flowing from nuclear power plants, Professor Strupczewski drank a glass of the plant’s cooling water in front of television cameras during a visit to Finland’s Loviisa power plant, proving its purity and lack of radioactivity.

Professor Strupewski’s commitment to popularising knowledge about nuclear power resulted in numerous scientific and popular science publications. Such books should be mentioned as: “Podstawy energetyki jądrowej” (co-authored by Prof. Z. Celiński), published by WNT in 1984, “Awarie Reaktorowe a Bezpieczeństwo Energetyki Jądrowej” (published by WNT in 1990), “Nie bójmy się energetyki jądrowej” (published by the Association of Polish Electrical Engineers in 2010) and “Zaufajmy Energetyce Jądrowej” (published by the National Centre for Nuclear Research in collaboration with PGE EJ 1 in 2016). He has published over 300 articles on nuclear power and related issues. He has obtained 6 patents, including one in 18 countries. He has lectured at more than 30 training courses, 15 of them outside Poland. He initiated and co-organised ten editions of the International School of Nuclear Energy. His educational and polarising activities were of great importance for the training of human resources and the spread of reliable knowledge of atomic science in Poland and worldwide.

Finally, it is worth mentioning that Professor was a member of many scientific organisations, including: UNIPEDE NUCLE Committee 1 (Nuclear Power) from 1980-1985, ISO TC-85 Nuclear Power Committee (1975-1985), Committee on Radiation Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences (1986-1990), Committee on Energy Problems of the Polish Academy of Sciences (1990-1993), Association of Scientists for Reliable Radiation Information, Scientists for Accurate Radiation Information SARI since 2015, International Board of Advisors for Environmentalists for Nuclear since 2017. He was also a founding member of the Polish Nucleonic Society and the Society of Environmentalists for Nuclear Energy (SEREN), and a member of the Advisory/Editorial Board of Nuclear Engineering and Design for Heat Transfer, Hydraulics and Safety from 1992-2014.

For his contributions, he has received state awards – the Golden Cross of Merit, the Knight’s Cross and the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta.

Professor Andrzej Strupczewski will remain in our memory as an extremely meritorious scientist, a valued academic teacher and a tireless advocate of nuclear power development. His work and achievements will inspire future generations of engineers and scientists.

Finally, I would like to add that I had the honour of working with Professor Andrzej Strupczewski for several years at the Institute of Atomic Energy and later at the National Centre for Nuclear Research. Professor Strupczewski was already an experienced expert, while I was just beginning my professional path. Despite the generation gap between us, he always treated me as a conversation partner, willing to share his knowledge and experience, and supported younger colleagues with great patience and kindness. His openness, passion and commitment were not only an inspiration to me, but also proof of what true authority should look like – not only in the field of science, but also in everyday relationships. Working together to organise the International School of Nuclear Energy and on other projects was an invaluable lesson for me. I am grateful for all those years of cooperation, discussions and support. Professor will remain in my memory as an outstanding scientist, but above all as an extremely kind and empathetic person.

Łukasz Koszuk

The information about the Professor’s career and achievements has been compiled by me on the basis of information I received from Professor Andrzej Strupczewski during our joint professional work.