Speakers
Dr. Christina (Tina) Back
Vice President, Nuclear Technologies and Materials
General Atomics
Dr. Christina Back is Vice President of Nuclear Technologies and Materials at General Atomics. She is responsible for the nuclear fission programs, which focus on development of advanced nuclear reactors for electric power, production of isotopes for medical uses, and fabrication of Accident Tolerant Fuel rods for safer nuclear reactors.
She earned her B.S. in physics from Yale University, and her Ph.D. in plasma physics from the University of Florida. As an experimental physicist, she spent two years at the Ecole Polytechnique LULI laser facility in France, and over fifteen years at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory performing research on the Nova, Omega, and NIF high-powered lasers in the Inertial Confinement Fusion and High Energy Density Science programs. Moving to General Atomics, Dr. Back became the High Energy Density Science Program Leader in the Inertial Fusion Technologies division, developing specialized materials and characterization techniques. Pursuit of new engineered materials led to work in fission on the Energy Multiplier Module, EM2, a high temperature gas-cooled reactor.
Dr. Back is an internationally recognized in fission and fusion research with over 25 years of experience in private industry and U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) laboratories. She has over 100 publications in areas such as radiative heating, opacity, x-ray conversion efficiency, spectroscopy, hohlraum physics, charged-particle diagnostics, and materials synthesis. She regularly serves on committees for the National Academy of Sciences, National Nuclear Security Administration, and the DOE, and is frequently invited to provide expertise for U.S. Congressional Committees and White House Science and Technology initiatives.
For her contributions, Dr. Back was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society and has received numerous awards, including DOE Technical Excellence and Defense Nuclear Sciences Awards for radiation transport. In 2013, she was named Woman of the Year in Business by the San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. David Blee
President & CEO
U.S. Nuclear Industry Council
David Blee serves as President & CEO of the U.S. Nuclear Industry Council – the leading business consortium advocate for nuclear energy and the promotion of the U.S. supply chain globally. The Council represents more than 80 companies comprising the “Who’s Who” of nuclear energy across a broad mix of the American supply chain, including key mover utilities, M&Os, manufacturers, suppliers and services companies.
Mr. Blee’s public service experience includes his current appointment on the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Civil Nuclear Trade Advisory Committee and past appointments as a Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Energy and Director of Public Affairs for the U.S. Department of Energy – and as Chief of Staff to former U.S. Senator Connie Mack, during his service in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Prior to his current assignments, Mr. Blee was an Executive Vice President for NAC International, a U.S.-based energy services and technology company, where he directed the company’s Worldwide Consulting Group and Marketing & Business Development portfolios. Mr. Blee was previously a Senior Vice President for the Wall Street-Washington DC-based Robinson, Lake, Lerer and Montgomery, a strategic communications firm.
Mr. Daniel Dorman
Deputy Executive Director for Reactor and Preparedness Programs
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Daniel H. Dorman serves as Deputy Executive Director for Reactor and Preparedness Programs of the Nuclear Regulator Commission. In this capacity Dorman executes OEDO responsibility for regulatory effectiveness in the implementation of the Nuclear Reactor Safety Program and the agency's homeland protection and preparedness activities. Dorman also carries out day-to-day supervision, guidance, and direction of the Offices of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, New Reactors, Nuclear Security and Incident Response, and the Agency's four regional offices. Dorman provides oversight across agency lines of authority for all NRC policies and activities related to reactor safety and homeland protection and preparedness. Dorman has responsibility for matters dealing with the homeland security aspects of physical and personnel security, information security, information technology security, safeguards, emergency response, and threat and vulnerability assessment.
Mr. Dorman joined the NRC in 1991 as a project engineer in the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR). He subsequently served as the licensing project manager in NRR for Vermont Yankee and Maine Yankee. In 1999, he was selected as Chief, Quality Assurance and Safety Assessment Section, Division of Inspection Program Management, NRR. Since joining the Senior Executive Service (SES) in 2001, Mr. Dorman has served in a number of senior management positions including Chief, Engineering Research Applications Branch, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research; Deputy Director, Division of Nuclear Security, Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response (NSIR); Director, Division of Security Operations, NSIR; Director, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS); Deputy Office Director, NMSS; Deputy Director for Engineering and Corporate Support, NRR; Acting Director, NRR; and Regional Administrator, Region I.
Prior to joining the NRC, Mr. Dorman served as a submarine officer in the U.S. Navy's nuclear power program with a subspecialty in joint intelligence operations. He received a bachelor's degree in naval architecture and marine engineering from the Webb Institute of Naval Architecture and is a graduate of NRC's SES Candidate Development Program. He received the NRC's Meritorious Service Award in 1998 and the Presidential Rank Meritorious Executive Award in 2008.
Dr. Ashley Finan
Director, National Reactor Innovation Center
Idaho National Laboratory
Ashley Finan most recently served as Executive Director for the Nuclear Innovation Alliance (NIA) where she was responsible for managing the organization’s strategy, operations, policy and technical development, stakeholder outreach, and fundraising. She provided expert guidance to policymakers, academic teams, industry stakeholders, and NGOs. Dr. Finan previously served as a Director of Nuclear Innovation at Clean Air Task Force.
Dr. Finan earned her Ph.D. in Nuclear Science and Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her doctoral work focused on energy innovation investment and policy optimization, both in nuclear and renewable energy technologies. She has played a key role in studies of the use of advanced nuclear energy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in several applications, including hydrogen production, coal to liquids processes, and oil production methods.
Dr. Finan has worked as a strategy and engineering consultant, primarily on nuclear energy applications. She also contributed to an analysis of the techno-economic potential of energy efficiency improvements in the residential and commercial sectors and several related topics. Dr. Finan holds an SB degree in Physics as well as SB and SM degrees in Nuclear Science and Engineering from MIT.
The Honorable Chuck Fleischmann
Member of Congress
Tennessee's 3rd District
Congressman Chuck Fleischmann is a conservative Republican who represents the 3rd District of Tennessee. The District is comprised of 11 counties: Anderson, Bradley, Campbell, Hamilton, McMinn, Monroe, Morgan, Polk, Roane, Scott and Union.
Chuck earned his undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Illinois. He received both Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude honors. He then went to the University of Tennessee law school where he received his Doctor of Jurisprudence.
For 24 years Chuck and his wife ran a small business together in Chattanooga after they both graduated from law school at the University of Tennessee.
Chuck has served on the board of the National Craniofacial Association and on the board of the Cherokee Area Council of Boy Scouts of America. He has also served as the president of the Chattanooga Bar Association and chairman of the Chattanooga Lawyers Pro Bono Committee.
Since taking office, Chuck has a 100% pro-life voting record and continues to support legislation that protects the Second Amendment rights of East Tennesseans.
Chuck serves on the Appropriations Committee which is vitally important to the residents of the 3rd District. Within the Committee he serves on two crucial subcommittees:
Chuck’s role on the Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies subcommittee allows him to fight for funding for the Chickamauga Lock, a key East Tennessee infrastructure project. In addition, this subcommittee assignment is of paramount importance to the northern region of the Third District which is home to Oak Ridge National Lab, Y-12 National Security Complex, and a large environmental cleanup mission, all of which rely on funds appropriated by this subcommittee.
In the 116th Congress, Chuck was named Ranking Member on the Homeland Security Subcommittee. As the Ranking Member, or top Republican, Chuck leads the charge to provide funding for the government agencies that secure our homeland including the United States Coast Guard, Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), the Federal Emergency Management Act (FEMA), and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
Mr. Rex Geveden
President & Chief Executive Officer
BWX Technologies, Inc.
Rex D. Geveden is president and chief executive officer and a member of the board of directors of BWX Technologies, Inc. (BWXT), a $1.9 billion nuclear industrial conglomerate headquartered in Lynchburg, Virginia. As CEO, Mr. Geveden directs all business operations and leads strategic planning, capital allocation, and leadership succession planning and implementation.
BWXT supplies nuclear components and fuel to the U.S. government; provides technical and management services to the U.S. government through the operation of complex facilities and environmental remediation activities; manufactures medical radioisotopes; and supplies precision manufactured components, services, and fuel for the commercial nuclear power industry. With about 6,500 employees, BWXT has 11 major operating sites in the U.S. and Canada comprising over three million square feet of manufacturing space. In addition, BWXT joint ventures provide management and operations at a dozen U.S. Department of Energy and two NASA facilities.
Mr. Geveden joined BWXT in 2015 as chief operating officer (COO), responsible for all operating business units. Previously, he was executive vice president at Teledyne Technologies, leading two of the four Teledyne operating segments.
He spent 17 years at NASA, including service as the agency’s COO responsible for a $16 billion portfolio of work that encompassed the agency’s technical operations of science, aeronautics, space operations and exploration as well as overseeing NASA’s 10 field centers.
Mr. Geveden serves on the board of directors for TTM Technologies, Inc., a global printed circuit board manufacturer with customers in the aerospace and defense, automotive, medical and computing industries. He holds both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in physics from Murray State University.
Dr. Robert Hill
Program Manager, Advanced NE R&D
Argonne National Laboratory
Dr. Robert Hill leads Advanced Nuclear Energy Research and Development within the Nuclear Science and Engineering Division at Argonne National Laboratory.
Dr. Hill completed his Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering at Purdue University in 1987. He has worked at Argonne National Laboratory for over 25 years with research focus on reactor physics, fast reactor core design, plutonium disposition, and waste management. In his current position, he manages Advanced Nuclear Energy Research and Development within the Nuclear Science and Engineering Division of Argonne National Laboratory. He has previously led Nuclear Engineering Division research groups working on reactor physics analysis, advanced modeling and simulation, fuel cycle and systems dynamics modeling, criticality safety, and nuclear data.
Dr. Hill is National Technical Director for multi-Laboratory advanced reactor R&D activities in current DOE Programs; this work includes small modular reactors, advanced structural materials, energy conversion technology, safety and licensing, and system integration. He also serves as U.S. representative for the Generation-IV Sodium Cooled Fast Reactor. Previous Program contributions include extensive transmutation and fuel cycle analysis activities in DOE Fuel Cycle Programs.
Dr. Wesley Hines
Postelle Professor, Chancellor's Professor, and Head - Department of Nuclear Engineering
University of Tennessee
J. Wesley Hines teaches and conducts research in artificial intelligence and advanced statistical techniques applied to process diagnostics, condition based maintenance, and prognostics; and has made notable accomplishments in the invention and development of reliability enhancing condition monitoring technologies.
Mr. John Hopkins
President & CEO
NuScale Power
John L. Hopkins is chairman and CEO of NuScale Power, LLC, a leading U.S.-based advanced small modular reactor technology development company.
Hopkins is currently serving as chairman of the Executive Committee of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Washington, D.C.
Prior to joining NuScale in 2012, Hopkins was with Fluor Corporation since 1989, one of the world's largest publicly-traded engineering, procurement, fabrication, construction and maintenance companies. Hopkins held numerous leadership positions in both operations and business development globally.
From 2010 to 2013, Hopkins served as Fluor's group president for the corporate development and new ventures group, responsible for strategic planning, global sales and marketing.
Active in a variety of professional and business organizations, Hopkins is the chairman of the executive committee for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and was formerly the chairman of the board. Most recently, he was appointed to the Department of Energy's (DOE) Nuclear Energy Advisory Committee (NEAC). He is a member of the Nuclear Energy Institute Executive Committee and Task Force Member, Atlantic Council. He is a senior policy advisor of I Squared Capital, New York. He has also served as the senior executive member of both the Fluor Netherlands and Fluor United Kingdom board of directors; chairman of the board for Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, LLC; and as a director of the Business Council for International Understanding.
Hopkins holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in finance from the University of Texas, Austin. He also completed advanced management programs at the University of California, Irvine, Thunderbird University's international management program.
Dr. Alan Icenhour
Associate Laboratory Director, NSED
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Dr. Alan Icenhour is the Associate Laboratory Director (ALD) for the Nuclear Science and Engineering Directorate (NSED) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). NSED operates state-of-the-art nuclear facilities and conducts technology research, development, and application programs that impact a large range of fields from basic science to reactor development to national security. As ALD, Dr. Icenhour leads three research divisions (Fusion Energy, Isotope and Fuel Cycle Technology, and Reactor and Nuclear Systems), one operating division (Nonreactor Nuclear Facilities), and the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors, the U.S. Department of Energy’s first energy innovation hub. NSED mission areas include research and development (R&D) for both fission and fusion technologies; advanced modeling and simulation; stable and radioactive isotope R&D and production; research, development, and deployment of technologies to address nuclear security challenges globally; and safe and efficient operation of ORNL’s nuclear facilities.
Prior to his role as ALD, Dr. Icenhour has served as the director of three ORNL divisions: the Global Nuclear Security Technology Division, the Fuel Cycle and Isotopes Division, and the Nuclear Security and Isotope Technology Division.
Dr. Icenhour joined ORNL in 1990. His more than 30 years of nuclear experience have included R&D on a range of fuel cycle topics such as enrichment, radiochemical processing, stable and radioisotope production, nuclear fuels, radiation effects on materials, radioactive waste management, and nuclear security. He completed a 21 month special assignment in Washington, D.C., as a Senior Technical Advisor to the Proliferation Detection Program within the Office of Nonproliferation Research and Development (NA-22) of the National Nuclear Security Administration.
Before joining ORNL, he served as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy on a nuclear powered submarine. After leaving active duty, he continued his service with the Navy as an active reservist, retiring in August 2010 at the rank of Captain (O-6). He received his B.S. degree in nuclear engineering from North Carolina State University, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in nuclear engineering from the University of Tennessee. He is an Adjunct Professor of Nuclear Engineering at the University of Tennessee. He is a fellow of the American Nuclear Society and a member of the Institute for Nuclear Materials Management.
Hon. William D. Magwood, IV
Director-General
OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA)
Mr Magwood took up his duties as Director-General of the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) on
1 September 2014. He has extensive experience in both the regulatory and developmental aspects
of nuclear energy, including at the international level.
From 2010 to 2014, he served as one of the five Commissioners appointed by the US President
and confirmed by the US Senate to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). While a
commissioner, he advocated the importance of nuclear regulatory independence and the necessity
of maintaining strong, credible and technically sound nuclear regulation in the United States and
all countries that use nuclear power.
Prior to his appointment at the NRC, from 2005 to 2010 he provided independent strategic and
policy advice to US and international clients on energy, environment, education, and technology
policy issues. From 1998 to 2005, Mr Magwood was Director of the US Government’s civilian nuclear
energy programme at the US Department of Energy (DOE). During his tenure, he established the
Idaho National Laboratory; created activities that reversed the decline of US nuclear technology
education; and launched important initiatives such as the Generation IV International Forum (GIF)
and the US “Nuclear Power 2010,” which helped restart nuclear plant construction in the United
States. He was also actively involved in the work of the NEA, serving as a Steering Committee
Bureau member from 1999 to 2005, including a term as Chair of the Steering Committee from 2004
to 2005.
Prior to his experience at the DOE, Mr Magwood managed electric utility research and nuclear
policy programmes at the Edison Electric Institute in Washington, DC, and was a scientist at
Westinghouse Electric Corporation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Mr Magwood, a US national, holds
Bachelor degrees in Physics and English from Carnegie Mellon University and a Master of Fine Arts
from the University of Pittsburgh.
Dr. Michael Mazzola
Duke Energy Distinguished Professor & EPIC Director
UNC Charlotte
Dr. Mazzola holds a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Old Dominion University. After three years in government service at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, Virginia, in 1993 he joined the faculty at Mississippi State University where he became known for his research in the areas of silicon carbide power semiconductor device prototyping and semiconductor materials growth and characterization. For the past 10 years he served at the Mississippi State University Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems as the associate director for advanced vehicle systems, where he lead research in high-voltage engineering, power systems modeling and simulation, the application of silicon carbide semiconductor devices in power electronics, and the control of hybrid electric vehicle power trains. In addition, he served two years as the chief technology officer of SemiSouth Laboratories, a company he co-founded.
Dr. Kathryn McCarthy
Vice-President, Research and Development
Canadian Nuclear Laboratories
Dr. Kathryn McCarthy is Vice-President, Research and Development for the Canadian Nuclear Laboratories.
From February 2012 to January 2017 she was Director of Domestic Programs for Nuclear Science and Technology (NS&T) at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), and the Director of the Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program Technical Integration Office for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE). Prior to that she was Deputy Associate Laboratory Director for NS&T at INL, National Technical Director for the Systems Analysis Campaign for the DOE-NE Fuel Cycle R&D Program, and was involved in various other nuclear fission and fusion programs before that; she was employed at the INL for 25 years. She received her B.S. in Nuclear Engineering at the University of Arizona; M.S. and Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. McCarthy was a Guest Scientist at the Kernforschungszentrum in Karlsruhe, Germany, March-September 1989, worked in the Soviet Union with the Department of Energy US/USSR Young Scientist Program (September 1989-August 1990), at the Efremov and Kurchatov Institutes in Russia, and the Latvian Academy of Science in Latvia.
Dr. McCarthy is a member of the American Nuclear Society (ANS), and has held multiple offices at the local and national level. Her awards include the an ANS Presidential citation in 2015 for “Leadership and guidance of the Light Water Reactor Sustainability effort….that has helped set the stage for US power companies to be able to make informed decisions regarding subsequent license renewal for their operating nuclear units…,” 2011 Nuclear Energy Advocate of the Year Award (given by the Partnership for Science and Technology), the 2011 Girl Scouts of Silver Sage Women of Today and Tomorrow Award, an American Nuclear Society Presidential Citation in 2007 for “…outstanding service to the ANS,” the 2000 ANS Women's Achievement Award, 1996 International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor U.S. Home Team Leadership Award, and the 1994 David Rose Award for Excellence in Fusion Engineering.
Hon. Jeffrey Merrifield
Former Commissioner, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
&
Chairman, USNIC Advanced Reactor Task Force;
Partner - Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman
Jeffrey Merrifield is a partner in the Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP’s energy practice. Mr. Merrifield was appointed by President Clinton and reappointed by President Bush to serve on the five-member, Senate-confirmed, independent United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. During his tenure, which was from October 1998 to June 2002 and from August 2002 to June 2007, the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission had a staff of 3,250 employees with a budget of $900 million and set all policies and rules that govern the safe and secure use of nuclear materials at the 104 U.S. nuclear power plants operating at that time.
Prior to joining Pillsbury, Mr. Merrifield served as President of The Merrifield Group, LLC where he provided energy and environmental consulting, advocacy and strategic advice for companies, organizations and individuals. Specific areas of focus included management, energy market analysis, nuclear, fossil and alternative energy policy and deployment, radioactive and hazardous waste disposal strategies, safety and regulatory assessment and analysis, as well as public and government engagement.
Before working with the Merrifield Group, Mr. Merrifield was the Senior Vice President of Global Business Development with CB&I’s Power Business Unit. While there, he led a team of twenty-five sales and proposal staff to develop and win over $1.5 billion in annual sales, including the first competitive, EPC combined cycle gas unit in over six years.
Prior to that, he was Senior Vice President for The Shaw Group, Inc.’s Power Group. As a member of the Power Group's executive team, he was responsible for overseeing the group's external relationships including nuclear business development, customer relations, strategic planning, marketing and communications, as well as government and regulatory affairs.
Mr. Merrifield also served on the Board of Directors for the U.S. Ecology Corporation, which is one of the largest U.S. operators of both hazardous and low-level radioactive waste disposal facilities. He served as the Lead Director and Chairman of the Governance Committee and was a member of the Compensation and Audit Committees.
Currently, Mr. Merrifield serves as the Chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Industry Council’s Advanced Reactors Task Force. Composed of more than 70 companies, the Council is the leading business consortium advocate for new nuclear energy and the promotion of the American supply chain globally.
Mr. Alex Polonsky
Partner
Morgan Lewis
Alex Polonsky is a partner in the energy practice and leads the firm’s classified information services group. In his 20 years practicing law at Morgan Lewis, Alex has handled energy and environmental matters ranging from nuclear industry licensing, administrative litigation, and investigations, to federal court radiation toxic tort and Superfund litigation. He is a nationally-known resource and frequent speaker at conferences on nuclear export–related matters, including 10 CFR Part 810. He also is the co-author of Fundamentals of Nuclear Regulation in the United States. As the firm’s facility security officer with a top-secret security clearance, Alex also supports matters involving classified information.
Ms. Alex Renner
Director of Licensing & Regulatory Affairs
Oklo Inc.
Alex is a regulatory lead at Oklo, focusing on interactions with the regulator and other external industry stakeholders. Additionally, Alex also works on and manages several technical projects with national laboratories. Prior to joining Oklo, Alex worked at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. There, she held several positions, including being a technical reviewer, a project manager, and a traveling facility inspector. Alex holds a B.S. in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Dr. Rachel Slaybaugh
Program Director, Advanced Nuclear Reactor Systems
Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E)
Dr. Rachel Slaybaugh currently serves as a Program Director at the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). Her focus at ARPA-E includes a wide range of technologies to enable advanced nuclear reactor systems.
Slaybaugh is also an Assistant Professor at the University of California, Berkeley. There, she researches numerical methods for neutral particle transport with an emphasis on supercomputing and advanced architectures. Her research applies to reactor design, shielding, and nuclear security and non-proliferation. Slaybaugh also runs the Nuclear Innovation Bootcamp to train the next generation of people working on nuclear energy. She was appointed to the Nuclear Energy Advisory Committee and she serves as a Senior Fellow at the Breakthrough Institute.
Slaybaugh earned an M.S. and Ph.D. in nuclear engineering and engineering physics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She holds a B.S. in nuclear engineering from Pennsylvania State University.
Dr. Kurt Terrani
Senior Staff Scientist & Leader, Nuclear Fuels Materials Group
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Kurt Terrani is a Senior Staff Scientist and the Leader of the Nuclear Fuels Materials Group at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). He joined the laboratory as a Weinberg Fellow in the Nuclear Fuel Materials Group in 2010 after completing his Ph.D. in nuclear engineering at University of California, Berkeley. His research focuses on fundamental aspects of nuclear fuel behavior under normal and transient operating conditions and development of advanced nuclear fuels. These areas span across advanced fuel fabrication including application of advanced manufacturing techniques, in-pile testing and post-irradiation characterization of fuel constituents, accident testing of fission reactor components, and integral fuel behavior modeling.
Ms. Rumina Velshi
President & CEO
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
Rumina Velshi was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) for a five-year term beginning August 22, 2018.
Ms. Velshi has had a long association with the CNSC. She was appointed as a permanent, part-time Commission member in 2011 and re-appointed for a second five-year term in March 2018.
Ms. Velshi has extensive technical, regulatory and adjudication expertise in the area of energy. Throughout her career, she has worked in various capacities at Ontario Hydro and Ontario Power Generation. Ms. Velshi also previously served as a part-time Board member on the Ontario Energy Board, the economic regulator of the province of Ontario’s electricity and natural gas sectors.
Ms. Velshi is very active in the promotion of careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), especially for young women. Since joining the CNSC as President and CEO, she has launched a women in STEM initiative, with the aim of considering ways to support women in STEM careers at the CNSC and elsewhere, and to further STEM education by working with interested partners. She has delivered several international keynote addresses about breaking down barriers for women in STEM, at venues that have included the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna and to audiences such as the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Federal Women’s Program Advisory Committee.
Ms. Velshi was one of the founding members of Canada’s Women in Science and Engineering and served as Vice Chair on the Board of Directors of Scientists in School – a non-profit organization that provides STEM-focused workshops to more than 700,000 students each year. She is the recipient of the 2011 Women in Nuclear (WiN) Canada Leadership Award.
Ms. Velshi was one of 150 Canadian women to have their stories compiled in "Your Turn", a book to mark Canada’s 150th anniversary and inspire the next generation of women leaders.
Ms. Velshi is also very active in international development activities. She is the founding member of Focus Humanitarian Assistance Canada, an internationally recognized humanitarian assistance agency. She served for four years as the Aga Khan Foundation Canada's City Chair for Toronto for the World Partnership Events, Canada's largest annual event dedicated to increasing awareness and raising funds to fight global poverty.
Ms. Velshi holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (Civil Engineering), a Master of Engineering (Chemical Engineering) and a Master of Business Administration – all from the University of Toronto.
Dr. John Wagner
Associate Laboratory Director
Idaho National Laboratory
Dr. John C. Wagner is the Associate Laboratory Director of INL’s Nuclear Science & Technology (NS&T) directorate. His previous roles included director of Domestic Programs in NS&T as well as director of the Technical Integration Office for the DOE-NE Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program at INL. Wagner initially joined INL as the chief scientist at the Materials and Fuels Complex in 2016. He has more than 20 years of experience performing research, and managing and leading research and development projects, programs and organizations. Wagner received a B.S. in nuclear engineering from the Missouri University of Science and Technology in 1992, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the Pennsylvania State University in 1994 and 1997, respectively. Following graduate school, Wagner joined Holtec International as a principal engineer, performing criticality safety analyses and licensing activities for spent fuel storage pools and storage and transportation casks. Wagner joined the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) as an R&D staff member in 1999, performing research in the areas of hybrid (Monte Carlo/deterministic) radiation transport methods, burnup credit criticality safety, and spent nuclear fuel characterization and safety. While at ORNL, Wagner held various technical leadership positions, including technical lead for postclosure criticality in support of DOE OCRWM’s Lead Laboratory for Repository Systems, Radiation Transport Methods Deputy Focus Area lead for the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors (CASL), and national technical director of the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy’s Nuclear Fuels Storage and Transportation Planning Project. Wagner also held various management positions, including group leader for the Criticality and Shielding Methods and Applications, Radiation Transport, and Used Fuel Systems groups. In 2014, Wagner became director of the Reactor and Nuclear Systems Division (RNSD), with responsibility for management direction and leadership to focus and integrate the seven RNSD R&D groups (Advanced Reactor Systems and Safety, Nuclear Data and Criticality Safety, Nuclear Security Modeling, Radiation Transport, Reactor Physics, Thermal Hydraulics and Irradiation Engineering, and Used Fuel Systems) and the Radiation Safety Information Computational Center. Wagner is a Fellow of the American Nuclear Society and recipient of the 2013 E.O. Lawrence Award. He has authored or co-authored more than 170 refereed journal and conference articles, technical reports, and conference summaries. He was the original developer of the A3MCNP and ADVANTG codes and led the development of the CADIS and Forward-Weighted CADIS hybrid transport methods.
Dr. Josh Walter
Principal Project Manager, Integrated Energy Systems, Innovation Projects
TerraPower LLC
Joshua Walter works within the Innovation Group at TerraPower LLC and is the lead for the development of nuclear non-electric applications and nuclear hybrid energy systems. Walter earned his doctoral degree in nuclear engineering from Purdue University, where he performed research related to hydrogen generation technology, fuel cells and nuclear system thermalhydraulics.
Mr. Lewis Wetzel
Director, North American Sales
Instrumentation & Controls
Framatome Inc.
Lewis (Lew) Wetzel is the Director, North American Sales, of the Instrumentation and Controls (I&C) business unit at Framatome Inc., the U.S.-based subsidiary of global energy company Framatome. He is responsible for sales and marketing of the entire portfolio of nuclear instrumentation, 1E Safety, and balance of plant automation solutions.
Lew has 37 years of experience, beginning his career in the process automation industry and working in various positions of technical, operational and sales leadership for instrumentation and process automation solutions across multiple industries, including nuclear. He joined Framatome Inc. in February of 2018 after the company’s acquisition of the Schneider Electric nuclear group. The acquisition brought the industry-leading solutions SPEC200, 1E Tricon and Foxboro DCS into the Framatome I&C product portfolio. Lew’s passion for operational excellence is well served by his decades of experience in process automation and I&C technologies, and the superior products and solutions of Framatome.
