The Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique or CEA is a French "public establishment of an industrial and commercial character" whose mission is to develop all applications of atomic energy, both civilian and military. CEA is headed by the high-commissionner for atomic energy (currently Bernard Bigot ), and by a board headed by the administrator general.

CEA was created in 1945; since then, the successive high-commissioners have been Frédéric Joliot-Curie, Francis Perrin, Jacques Yvon , Jean Teillac , Robert Dautray , René Pellat and the incumbent.

It conducts fundamental and applied research into many areas, including the design of nuclear reactors, the manufacturing of integrated circuits, the use of radionucleides for curing illnesses, seismology and tsunami propagation, the safety of computerized systems...

It is divided into 4 directions, or divisions:

• the division of technological research;
• the division of life sciences;
• the division of sciences of matter;
• the division of military applications, which builds the nuclear weapons of the French military.

Facilities

In addition to the headquarters in Paris:

Civilian research centers

• CEA/Saclay , Essonne
• CEA/Fontenay-aux-Roses , Fontenay-aux-Roses, Hauts-de-Seine
• CEA/Grenoble , Grenoble, Isère
• CEA/Cadarache , Bouches-du-Rhône
• CEA/Valrhô , Marcoule and Pierrelatte , Gard

Research centers for military applications

• CEA/DAM Île-de-France , Bruyères-le-Châtel , Essonne
• CEA/Cesta , Gironde
• CEA/Valduc, Côte d'Or

External link

• CEA official website (in French)