Dr. Chikan Joins Advanced Nuclear Technology Entrepreneur Jay Yu and a World Class Executive Team in Leading the Only U.S. Origin Company with Patented Technology for Uranium Laser Enrichment
Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Nov. 21, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — LIS Technologies Inc. (“LIST” or “the Company”), a proprietary developer of advanced laser technology and the only U.S.-origin and patented laser uranium enrichment company, today announced that it has appointed Viktor Chikan, Ph.D., a visionary research leader and innovator in advanced laser and experimental physical chemistry, as Co-CTO.
Dr. Chikan joins a world class management team, including advanced nuclear technology entrepreneur Jay Yu, LIST’s Executive Chairman and President, Christo J. Liebenberg, LIST’s Chief Executive Officer, and Dr. Jeff W. Eerkens, LIST’s Chief Technical Officer, who is considered a founding father innovator in the field of uranium laser enrichment.
“The proprietary technology behind LIST is one of the most exciting innovations in the advanced isotope separation and enrichment technology industry,” said Viktor Chikan, Ph.D., Co-CTO of LIS Technologies Inc. “I’m delighted to take my place on the leadership team and lend my expertise to LIST and especially my colleague Dr. Eerkens, who is a true pioneer in the field of laser uranium enrichment. I am thrilled to continue his work and aid, alongside Jay and Christo, in the revitalization and subsequent commercialization of the laser isotope separation technology he helped develop. In addition to reinforcing the United States’ domestic uranium enrichment capabilities, LIST’s technology is well suited to driving change across an entire spectrum of industries, including semiconductor manufacturing, material science, medical isotopes and rare earth elements, underscoring its immense potential.”
Dr. Chikan’s dynamic career spans academia, national laboratories, and industry, reflecting his passion for the industrialization of research technology to benefit society. As Group Lead and function owner of the Droplet Generator team in EUV Research section of ASML in San Diego between 2022 and 2024, Dr. Chikan was responsible for building the droplet generator functional team and laboratory, driven by the strategic interests of ASML to maintain its leadership in producing cutting edge chip manufacturing equipment for the semiconductor industry. His leadership encompassed technical direction, team building, strategic planning, intellectual property protection, and stakeholder management. From 2016 to 2022, as a Fulbright Distinguished Scholar and team lead, Dr. Chikan contributed to the technology and facility development of the Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI-ALPS), establishing a novel user end station that interfaces with high-power ultrafast lasers.
Figure 1 – LIS Technologies Inc. Appoints Viktor Chikan, Ph.D., as its Co-CTO.
Dr. Chikan served as an Assistant and later Associate Professor at Kansas State University from 2005 to 2022, where he underscored his commitment to research excellence by securing substantial funding, developing novel nanomaterials, obtaining patents for cancer research, and mentoring both domestic and international graduate and undergraduate students.
Dr. Chikan received his postdoctoral training at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and UC Berkeley in Professor Stephen Leone’s research group, focusing on synchrotron and laser-induced experiments to study combustion processes and explore reactions relevant to planetary atmospheres. He earned his Ph.D. in experimental physical chemistry at Kansas State University in just 3.5 years, using laser spectroscopy to advance nanotechnology and study the spectroscopy of quantum dots. Between 1993 and 1998, he attended the University of Szeged in Hungary, where he obtained his MSc in Chemistry.
“Dr. Chikan’s appointment as Co-CTO strengthens LIST’s position at the cutting-edge of laser-based uranium enrichment,” said Jay Yu, Executive Chairman and President of LIS Technologies Inc. “His expertise and commitment to our mission will be instrumental as we work to redemonstrate the technology’s capabilities and advance it toward deployment, benefiting the broader U.S. nuclear energy industry. With technologies like small modular reactors and microreactors poised for growth, LIST is well-positioned to play a pivotal role in advancing innovative nuclear energy solutions, and Dr. Chikan will be a key driver of these efforts.”
“It is my pleasure to welcome Dr. Chikan to the LIS Technologies team,” said Christo Liebenberg, CEO of LIS Technologies Inc. “Viktor is a highly respected and leading chemist and brings a wealth of experience and expertise to LIST in experimental physical chemistry, materials science, and laser spectroscopy. I am confident that his leadership experience in productization of research will be vital in the following phases of our roadmap to bring this technology through regulatory approvals and ultimately to market and I am delighted to work alongside him to achieve our strategic objectives.”
About LIS Technologies Inc.
LIS Technologies Inc. (LIST) is a U.S.-based, proprietary developer of a patented advanced laser technology, making use of infrared lasers to selectively excite the molecules of desired isotopes to separate them from other isotopes. The Laser Isotope Separation Technology (L.I.S.T) has a huge range of applications, including being the only U.S.-origin (and patented) laser uranium enrichment company, and several major advantages over traditional methods such as gas diffusion, centrifuges, and prior art laser enrichment. The LIST proprietary laser-based process is more energy-efficient and has the potential to be deployed with highly competitive capital and operational costs. L.I.S.T is optimized for LEU (Low Enriched Uranium) for existing civilian nuclear power plants, High-Assay LEU (HALEU) for the next generation of Small Modular Reactors (SMR) and Microreactors, the production of stable isotopes for medical and scientific research, and applications in quantum computing manufacturing for semiconductor technologies. LIST employs a world class nuclear technical team working alongside leading nuclear entrepreneurs and industry professionals, possessing strong relationships with government and private nuclear industries.
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Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements
This news release contains “forward-looking statements,” meaning statements (including those relating to the anticipated benefits of Dr. Chikan joining LIST as described herein) related to future events, which may impact our expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as “expects”, “anticipates”, “intends”, “plans”, “believes”, “will”, “should”, “could”, “would” or “may” and other words of similar meaning. These forward-looking statements are based on information available to us as of the date of this news release and represent management’s current views and assumptions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, events or results and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may be beyond our control. For LIS Technologies Inc., particular risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in our forward-looking statements include but are not limited to the following which are, and will be, exacerbated by any worsening of global business and economic environment: (i) risks related to the development of new or advanced technology, including difficulties with design and testing, cost overruns, development of competitive technology, loss of key individuals and uncertainty of success of patent filing, (ii) our ability to obtain contracts and funding to be able to continue operations and (iii) risks related to uncertainty regarding our ability to commercially deploy a competitive laser enrichment technology, and (iv) risks related to the impact of government regulation and policies including by the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Only after successful completion of our Phase 2 Pilot Plant demonstration will LIS Technologies be able to make realistic economic predictions for a commercial uranium enrichment facility. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date of this news release. These factors may not constitute all factors that could cause actual results to differ from those discussed in any forward-looking statement. Accordingly, forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as a predictor of actual results. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this news release, except as required by law.
