Center dedicated in Kyiv to honor the late George Kuzmycz (10/25/98)

Center dedicated in Kyiv to honor the late George Kuzmycz

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - The George Kuzmycz Training Center for Physical Protection, Control and Accounting of Nuclear Materials was dedicated on October 8 in memory of a Ukrainian American who died while working in Ukraine for the U.S. Department of Energy.

The center, located in the Kyiv Institute for Nuclear Research, was developed with U.S. Department of Energy financing; it will work to improve Ukraine's technology and techniques for the protection and control of nuclear materials in Ukraine.

On hand for the ribbon-cutting ceremonies were officials from the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Embassy, including Ambassador Steven Pifer, as well as Ukraine's Minister of Environmental Protection and Nuclear Safety Vasyl Shevchuk, Mr. Kuzmycz's widow, Ksenia, his mother, Valentyna, and his two sons, Yuri and Danylo.

Department of Energy representative Michael McLary explained that Mr. Kuzmycz was the central figure in the establishment of the center. "George built the Ukraine Cooperation Program almost single-handedly against major bureaucratic obstacles. It is a testament to his stubbornness and tenacity," said Mr. Richardson.

The center contains a George Kuzmycz Memorial Room, which contains his portrait flanked by the Ukrainian and American flags.

Mr. Kuzmycz, a 53-year-old nuclear engineer, was killed in an automobile accident while returning from a work-related trip to Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine on December 6, 1997.

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