Director, SESAME
Khaled Toukan is regarded as among the most important academic and scientific figures in Jordan. Currently K. Toukan is the Chairman of Jordan Atomic Energy Commission and Director of the Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East (SESAME) Center. He has also served as a member of IAEA’s SAGNE Advisory Group since 2016.
K. Toukan obtained his B.E. in Electrical Engineering from the American University of Beirut, M.Sc. in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Michigan and his Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in USA. K. Toukan was appointed as the President of Al-Balqa Applied University, Minister of Education, Minister of Higher Education and Minister of Energy. During his term as Minister of Education, K. Toukan launched the “Education Reform for the Knowledge Economy” (ERfKE) Project throughout all schools in Jordan. ERfKE has had a big impact on the improvement of Jordan’s national scores in “Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study” (TIMSS). Also, K. Toukan served as the Chair of Board of Trustees of the University of Jordan
K. Toukan holds several distinguished international and national medals of honor and is the winner of several awards and prizes. He has been selected as one of “Nature’s 10 People Who Mattered for 2017”. He has also been elected as an International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences since 2018.
