Gets the society’s highest membership grade award to nuclear professionals who have significant accomplishments in the fields of nuclear science and engineering
– By Linton Levy –
NRC Commissioner Peter B. Lyons has been honored with the American Nuclear Society (ANS) Fellow Award, the society’s highest membership grade award to nuclear professionals who have significant accomplishments in the fields of nuclear science and engineering.
Commissioner Lyons is being honored by the ANS for his exceptional and diverse contributions to the advancement of nuclear science in the United States and around the world, including his instrumental role in helping to develop the Energy Policy Act of 2005, and leadership at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in developing a stalwart research program that supports sound regulatory decisions. He is also being recognized for his contributions to initiatives for maintaining a competent and dedicated workforce and for essential contributions toward furthering international collaboration.
"I would like to congratulate Commissioner Lyons on this prestigious award. During our four and a half years together on the Commission, I have enjoyed our friendship, and the Commission has benefitted from his insights and expertise on a wide variety of safety issues," said NRC Chairman Gregory B. Jaczko.
During his tenure at the NRC, Dr. Lyons focused on the safety of operating reactors and on the importance of the NRC and the nuclear industry learning from operating experience, even as new reactor licensing and possible construction emerge. He has emphasized that the agency and its licensees must remain strong and vigilant components of the nation’s integrated defenses against terrorism, and he has been a consistent voice for improving NRC partnerships with the states.
An extensive research background underscores his advocacy for an active and forward-looking NRC research program to support sound regulatory decisions, address current nuclear safety issues, and anticipate future issues. In addition, because the agency’s success depends
directly on maintaining a competent and dedicated workforce, Dr. Lyons has been a proponent of science and technology education, recruitment for diversity, employee training and development programs, and an open and collaborative working environment.
Prior to his service at the NRC, Dr. Lyons served as science advisor on the staff of U.S. Senator Pete Domenici and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources where he focused on military and civilian uses of nuclear technology, national science policy, and nuclear non-proliferation. He developed key provisions in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 that helped to bolster the nuclear energy renaissance in the United States. From 1969 to 1996, Dr. Lyons worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory serving as director for industrial partnerships, deputy associate director for energy and environment, and deputy associate director-defense research and applications.
Dr. Lyons joins an elite group in receiving the prestigious designation of ANS Fellow, which acknowledges the extraordinary leadership of nuclear professionals in different disciplines relating to research, invention, engineering, safety, technical leadership and teaching.
The ANS will present Dr. Lyons with the award at the ANS awards luncheon in Atlanta, Ga., and he will join the group of fellows listed on the ANS Web page at http://www.ans.org/honors/fellows/.