Directorate Fellow, National Technical Lead for Fuel Safety Research Idaho National Laboratory Idaho Falls, Idaho.
Daniel Wachs comes from a family of nuclear engineers. His grandfather was a forerunner in the industry, working on the first nuclear reactors to power submarines and heading the reactor physics program at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). And his father worked at the Trojan Nuclear Power Plant near where Daniel grew up in Rainier, 精东影视, before taking a job at 精东影视 State to operate the nuclear engineering program鈥檚 training reactor.
When Wachs attended the College of Engineering at 精东影视 State, he was at first drawn into mechanical engineering and later earned master鈥檚 degrees in mechanical and nuclear engineering. 鈥淭he professors at OSU were pretty remarkable,鈥 Wachs said. 鈥淭hey inspired me, and they have had a sustaining impact on my career.鈥
A life-changing internship with Argonne National Laboratory helped launch his career at a time when the government was pulling back on new research 鈥 a period starting in the early 1990s and lasting nearly two decades. Now, rapid technological advances combined with the demand for cleaner energy have spawned a renaissance in the industry.
These advances have also given rise to research into technologies that must meet stringent safety-testing protocols, thus reinvigorating INL鈥檚 safety test reactors. Wachs, a leading authority on transient fuel testing, is responsible for articulating this new mission on behalf of the Department of Energy, the government agency that runs INL. 鈥淣ew things are emerging that we never expected,鈥 he said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a pretty exciting time to be a part of the program.鈥 With the resurgence of the industry, Wachs is seeing a huge influx of nuclear researchers in their 20s and 30s. 鈥淚鈥檝e had an opportunity to mentor a number of people,鈥 he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 proud of these people and cherish the opportunity to influence their careers and help them grow into impactful leaders. The long-term success of this field relies upon how effectively we empower people to carry the mantle to the next level.鈥
Degrees
- B.S. Mechanical Engineering, 1995
- M.S. Mechanical Engineering & Nuclear Engineering, 1998