for the region.
A hallmark of Ahn’s scholarship in the
nuclear fuel cycle, waste management and
nuclear chemistry was his visionary
engagement with the social sciences;
enduring societal goods could not be attained
solely by technical optimization, but technical
progress informed and guided by a deep
humanity. Not surprisingly, he was at the very
headwaters of the development of the
engineering ethics program at Berkeley, and
cofounder of the Institute for Resilient
Communities at Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory.
Poignantly, it was the very evening of the
final day of this workshop, when all the
participants returned home sharing a great
sense of satisfaction and optimism, that
Joonhong felt the first abdominal pain that
signaled the illness which soon was to claim
his life. It was so characteristic of him that
after his diagnosis he visited me to inquire,
completely dispassionately, what he should
do with his remaining time to best serve his
profession, the university and his students.
Without any hesitation I advised him that,
above all the achievements of his remarkable
career, this workshop embodied his true
legacy, and that he should see to the
completion of the proceedings and their wide
dissemination. I thank his co-organizer,
Prof. Franck Guarnieri of MINES ParisTech,