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Thomas Sanders to Lead SRNL’s Development and Implementation of an Energy Park at the Savannah River Site

Submitted by: Angeline French on Oct 25, 2010 at 4:48 pm Tagged with: Energy, energy park, nuclear energy Source: Savannah River National Laboratory

AIKEN, S.C. (Oct. 25, 2010) – Savannah River Nuclear Solutions has announced that Dr. Thomas L. Sanders, immediate past president of the American Nuclear Society, has joined the staff of the Savannah River National Laboratory to lead the development and implementation of an energy park at the Savannah River Site.

Dr. Terry Michalske, director of the Savannah River National Laboratory, said that, in addition to coordination of SRS facilities and resources for the energy park, Dr. Sanders’ role will include development of private sector partnerships, and direction of SRNL-based science and technology support for the development of small nuclear reactors and other energy concepts in the energy park. “Tom brings to us a wealth of experience in drawing together the most capable parties to form collaborations to help move this nation toward our energy goals,” Dr. Michalske said.

SRNS has been actively working with industry and stakeholder groups on the development of an energy park concept for the U.S. Department of Energy to consider at SRS. An energy park at SRS would leverage the site’s unique resources – such as the land, infrastructure, technologies, and highly-skilled workforce – to help the region contribute to national energy security and new, green energy technologies. The DOE is exploring the potential of energy parks as one option for revitalization of its assets at sites like SRS.

In his leadership role with the 11,000-member American Nuclear Society, Dr. Sanders initiated and led three special President Committees of 60 U.S. experts to develop issue resolution strategies on issues related to the nation’s nuclear energy future. These included American nuclear industry engagement and national security benefits; U.S. waste options and advice to the President’s Blue Ribbon Commission; and recommendations for resolving 18 generic regulatory issues impeding the certification of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). He has presented oral and written testimony to the Blue Ribbon Commission, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and the House Science and Commerce Committee.

Dr. Sanders comes to SRNL from Sandia National Laboratories, where he most recently was manager and project lead for Sandia’s Small Modular Reactor Initiative, including development of key industrial partnerships, evaluation of reactor designs, and development of fuel cycle safety and security approaches. In this position, he organized and led the development of a 501(c)3 organization led by Senator Howard Baker, The American Council on Global Nuclear Competitiveness.

As manager and project lead for Sandia’s Global Nuclear Futures, he initiated, organized and led the development of the “Six-Lab Action Plan” among Sandia, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Los Alamos National Laboratory, which was used to define the Bush Administration’s research and development plan in 2003.

His interest in nuclear topics began when, as a Vietnam-era Navy recruit, his high aptitude test scores qualified him for the nuclear Navy program. He wasn’t familiar with the program, but he took the recruiter’s advice to try it, and found it to be an “amazing opportunity,” with two years of classroom and hands-on training leading to assignment on a nuclear submarine.

A year after completing six years in the Navy, his urge to see how far he could go in developing a real capability in nuclear engineering led him to enroll in the University of Texas, where from 1974 to 1985 he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees and a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering with an emphasis on nuclear engineering.

SRNL is DOE’s applied research and development national laboratory located at the Savannah River Site. SRNL puts science to work to support DOE and the nation in the areas of environmental management, national and homeland security, and energy security. The management and operating contractor for SRS and SRNL is Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, LLC.
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