2014 Sow-Hsin Chen Distinguished
Lectureship: Speaker - Dr. Khaled Toukan
Dr. Toukan has been the
founder of Jordan's nuclear energy program since its inception and the Chairman
of Jordan Atomic Energy Commission since 2008. He served previously as the
Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (2011), and dealt with the energy
crisis and energy supply disruptions emanating in the Middle East due to the
political turbulence engulfing the region on the outset of the Arab Spring
events.
From (2000 – 2007), he was
Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education (2001-2002 and
2005-2007). He led the Education Reform for Knowledge Economy (ERfKE)
project. Through ERfKE, computers were widely
introduced through all public schools in Jordan,
hundreds of kindergartens were built across the country to cater for children
pre-school education. English language and science teaching in Jordanian schools
has been enhanced resulting in substantial improvements in the Trends in
International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and Programme
for International Student Assessment (PISA) scores.
Dr. Toukan was the President of Al-Balqa Applied University (1997-2001), Jordan; he also held
the position of Dean of the Faculty of Engineering & Technology and
Professor of Industrial Engineering at the University of Jordan; Research
Scientist at Kernforschungszentrum Karlsruhe,
Germany; and Associate Research Scientist at the University of Petroleum and
Minerals, Saudi Arabia.
Dr. Toukan holds a Ph.D. degree in Nuclear
Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1978-1982)
supervised by Prof. Sow-Hsin Chen, a M.Sc. degree in Nuclear Engineering from the
University of Michigan (1976-1978), and a B.E. degree in Electrical Engineering
from the American University of Beirut (1971-1976). Dr. Toukan was awarded the Theos J. Thompson Memorial Fellowship (1980-1981) in the
Department of Nuclear Engineering at MIT.
Aside from countless speeches and publications,
Dr. Toukan has 25 scientific publications, one of which has Institute for
Scientific Information (ISI) citations exceeding 500. He has been heavily
decorated with numerous international awards and medals. These include the
UNESCO Ghandi Medal of Peace (2003), the Royal Grand
Gordon of Al-Kawkab Al-Urduni
(2003), Legion de Honore from the French Republic
(2004), and Commanders Cross of the Order of Merit from the Federal Republic of
Germany (2006) and King Hussein's Medal of Excellence (2008).
He served as a member of the International High
Level Education for All (EFA) Group, and a member of H.M. King Abdullah II
Economic Consultative Council. Presently he is Director of the
Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East
(SESAME). SESAME was established in 2004 as an Inter-Governmental Organization
under the auspices of UNESCO with eight member states, and has played an
important role in promoting and advancing synchrotron-light scientific
applications in the Middle East region. He also serves as Chairman of the Board
of Trustees of the University of Jordan.
Born in Amman in 1954, Dr. Toukan is married with
three children.
▲ Jordan Research and Training Reactor