Moral responsibility of science explored by Iraqi chemist

29 September 2004

Former Iraqi chief nuclear chemist professor Hussain Al-Shahristani - who was held in solitary confinement for 11 years for refusing to join Saddam Hussein's nuclear weapons program - will explore the moral responsibilities of scientists at a seminar at Monash University, Clayton campus on Friday 1 October.

Professor Al-Shahristani will deliver a one-hour talk titled 'Moral responsibility of scientists and engineers in the age of weapons of mass destruction.'

Now working as a professor of chemical engineering at the University of Baghdad, professor Al-Shahristani was once the leading figure in the Iraqi scientific world heading up the nation's Atomic Energy Commission as the chief scientific advisor in the late 1970s.

Jailed for refusing to contribute to the construction of atomic weapons in Iraq during Hussein's dictatorial reign, professor Al-Shahristani was forced to endure years of psychological and physical torture before he escaped captivity during the Gulf War in 1991.

During the seminar, professor Al-Shahristani will discuss persecution at the hands of his own government, moral responsibility of scientists and standing up to Saddam's regime, a decision which transformed him into one of the world's highest profile dissident scientists.

Professor Al-Shahristani is in Australia as part of a visiting higher education delegation from Iraq who will also be signing two memorandums of understanding with Monash University and its Faculty of Engineering on Friday.

What: Seminar - 'Moral responsibility of scientists and engineers in the age of weapons of mass destruction'
Where: Lecture Theatre E7, Building 72, Monash University, Clayton campus
When: 2.30-3.30pm, Friday 1 October
Who: Professor of chemical engineering at Baghdad University and former Iraqi chief nuclear chemist Professor Hussain Al-Shahristani

For further information contact Ingrid Sanders in Media Communications on +61 3 9905 9201.