LOCATION:  Kurchatov, former Semipalatinsk Test Site, East Kazakhstan Oblast (see a map of Semipalatinsk)
HOMEPAGE:  http://www.nnc.kz
SUBORDINATION:  Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources
ADMINISTRATION:
Director:  Shamil Talibulovich Tukhvatulin
Tukhvatulin replaced Dr. Yuriy Cherepnin.  Tukhvatulin was formerly the first deputy director of the NNC.  
[NISNP correspondence with NNC official, 30 October 2000, KAZ001030.]{Updated NA 11/14/2000}
Deputy Director:  Irina Tajibayeva
["V Kazakhstane gotovyatsya k zakhoroneniyu yadernogo topliva," Interfax, 11 September 2001.){Entered 9/11/2001 KB}
STRUCTURE: 
Click here for an NNC organizational chart.  NNC oversees the following four institutes:
Institute of Nuclear Physics:  Includes the VVR-K research reactor in Alatau
Institute of Atomic Energy:  Includes the IVG-1M, non-operational RA, and IGR research reactors at the former Semipalatinsk Test Site.
Institute of Geophysical Research
Institute of Radiation Safety and Ecology
[NISNP Interview with NNC official, 18 July 2000, KAZ000718.]{Updated 7/21/2000 KB}
ACTIVITIES:
The National Nuclear Center (NNC) was created by presidential decree in May 1992.  The NNC is charged with conducting research on the peaceful use of nuclear energy and radiation safety and is also responsible for evaluating the consequences of nuclear tests at the now-closed Semipalatinsk Test Site.  All nuclear research reactors in Kazakhstan are under the jurisdiction of the NNC.  The NNC is involved in denuclearization projects in Kazakhstan under the Cooperative Threat Reduction program, including projects under the auspices of the International Science and Technology Center (ISTC).
Sources:
[1] Report done for CISNP, Kazakhstan Atomic Energy Agency, 7 July 1995.
[2] Emily Ewell, "International Conference on Nonproliferation Problems," NISNP trip report, September 1997, KAZ970900, pp. 4-5.{Entered 1/28/98, EB}{Updated 7/26/2000 KB}

NATIONAL NUCLEAR CENTER DEVELOPMENTS:

2/6/2003: NNC TO PARTICIPATE IN DEVELOPMENT OF HEAT-RESISTANT MATERIALS
According to a 6 February 2003 Interfax article, the Kazakhstani National Nuclear Center will sign a joint agreement in May 2003 with the Russian Ministry of Atomic Energy, Russian Institute of Metallurgy and Material Science, and Moscow State University to undertake a joint program to develop heat-resistant and heat-tolerant materials. According to the Nuclear Society of Kazakhstan, the importance of the development and production of such materials was proved by the recent Columbia space shuttle disaster, where NASA experts identified damage to the shuttle's thermal protection tile as the most likely cause of the catastrophe.
[Interfax, 6 February 2003; in "Kazakhstani nuclear center to help develop heat-resistant materials," FBIS Document CEP20030206000362] {Entered 3/27/2003 AD}