๐โญ Center Chief
Enrico Fermi
Center Head
๐ก First nuclear reactor, nuclear physics
โ Resource & Energy Engineering Division
Nuclear Energy Engineering Center
Researches the geological aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle โ from uranium exploration to deep-repository siting โ through radionuclide-transport modeling and long-term geologic-stability simulation, assessing the safety of nuclear-waste isolation and facilities.
โ๏ธ GeoVerse System Administration Division๐ฅ๏ธ AI & Computing Sciences Division๐ฌ Basic Sciences Divisionโก Intelligent Geophysical Exploration Division๐ข๏ธ Resource & Energy Engineering Division๐ Applied Geoscience Solutions Division๐ผ Economics, Policy & Strategy Division๐ Education & Training Development Division๐ Innovation & International Collaboration Division
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๐George A. Cowan
Researcher
๐ก Led the American scientific analysis explaining the Oklo phenomenon in Gabon as a natural, self-sustaining nuclear fission reactor that operated roughly 1.7 billion years ago, and used it to validate long-term fission-product retention in the host rock
๐ข๏ธ Resource & Energy Engineering DivisionNuclear Energy Engineering Center
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๐Georges Millot
Researcher
๐ก Authored the foundational treatise Geology of Clays (1964/1970), establishing the systematic mineralogical and sedimentological framework used to characterize clay/claystone formations such as those studied as repository host rocks
๐ข๏ธ Resource & Energy Engineering DivisionNuclear Energy Engineering Center
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๐Marcel Pourbaix
Researcher
๐ก Invented the Pourbaix (potential-pH) diagram, the standard electrochemical stability-mapping tool used to predict corrosion behavior of metals, including nuclear waste canister materials, in aqueous environments
๐ข๏ธ Resource & Energy Engineering DivisionNuclear Energy Engineering Center
๐Karl Z. Morgan
Researcher
๐ก Founded the discipline of health physics at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, establishing the radiation-protection survey methods used to characterize and manage residual contamination at nuclear fuel-cycle facilities
๐ข๏ธ Resource & Energy Engineering DivisionNuclear Energy Engineering Center
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๐John Bredehoeft
Researcher
๐ก USGS hydrogeologist who authored foundational earth-science assessments of geologic disposal of high-level radioactive waste and chaired National Academy of Sciences reviews of the Yucca Mountain repository program
๐ข๏ธ Resource & Energy Engineering DivisionNuclear Energy Engineering Center
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๐Clarence S. Ross
Researcher
๐ก Co-authored the foundational 1926 study establishing the mineralogical definition and volcanic-ash alteration origin of bentonite, the montmorillonite clay now used worldwide as engineered-barrier buffer material in nuclear waste repositories
๐ข๏ธ Resource & Energy Engineering DivisionNuclear Energy Engineering Center
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๐Ernst Cloos
Researcher
๐ก Pioneered systematic structural analysis of granite plutons โ primary igneous flow structures, lineation, and fracture/joint patterns โ establishing methods used to characterize crystalline basement rock
๐ข๏ธ Resource & Energy Engineering DivisionNuclear Energy Engineering Center
๐Alfred Nier
Researcher
๐ก First precisely measured the isotopic composition of uranium (235U/238U ratio, 1939) using a purpose-built mass spectrometer, work foundational to both uranium geochronology and the recognition of fissile 235U
๐ข๏ธ Resource & Energy Engineering DivisionNuclear Energy Engineering Center
๐Willard Libby
Researcher
๐ก Invented radiocarbon (14C) dating (1949), the foundational isotopic method later adapted to determine groundwater residence times used in assessing the long-term hydrogeologic stability of repository sites
๐ข๏ธ Resource & Energy Engineering DivisionNuclear Energy Engineering Center
๐Glenn T. Seaborg
Researcher
๐ก Co-discovered plutonium and eight other transuranic elements, and established the actinide concept placing these elements in the periodic table โ the foundational chemistry describing how actinide radionuclides speciate and behave in aqueous environments
๐ข๏ธ Resource & Energy Engineering DivisionNuclear Energy Engineering Center
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๐Hans Ramberg
Researcher
๐ก Pioneered centrifuge analog modeling of salt tectonics and gravity-driven deformation of the crust, establishing the rheological framework for understanding salt-body flow behavior
๐ข๏ธ Resource & Energy Engineering DivisionNuclear Energy Engineering Center
๐Kiyoo Wadati
Researcher
๐ก Discovered the systematic distribution of deep-focus earthquakes along inclined seismic zones (the Wadati-Benioff zone), foundational to understanding long-term regional seismotectonic structure
๐ข๏ธ Resource & Energy Engineering DivisionNuclear Energy Engineering Center
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๐Ruth Terzaghi
Researcher
๐ก Identified systematic sampling and orientation biases in rock joint/discontinuity surveys, establishing rigorous methodology for characterizing rock-mass structure used in subsurface site investigation
๐ข๏ธ Resource & Energy Engineering DivisionNuclear Energy Engineering Center
๐John Gofman
Researcher
๐ก Co-discovered protactinium-232, uranium-232, and uranium-233, and later became a leading and controversial researcher on the health effects of low-level environmental radioactive contamination, including from uranium milling and mining
๐ข๏ธ Resource & Energy Engineering DivisionNuclear Energy Engineering Center
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๐William F. Brace
Researcher
๐ก Experimentally established how permeability, effective stress, and pore pressure interact in crystalline rock under high confining pressure, foundational to coupled hydro-mechanical modeling of repository near-field rock
๐ข๏ธ Resource & Energy Engineering DivisionNuclear Energy Engineering Center
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๐Thomas Pigford
Researcher
๐ก Co-founded the academic discipline of nuclear waste management engineering and developed analytical models for radionuclide release from repositories, foundational to modern total system performance assessment methodology
๐ข๏ธ Resource & Energy Engineering DivisionNuclear Energy Engineering Center
๐Hans Geiger
Researcher
๐ก Co-invented the Geiger-Muller counter (1928), the foundational instrument for detecting and measuring radioactivity, later adapted into scintillometers and portable survey instruments used in uranium exploration
๐ข๏ธ Resource & Energy Engineering DivisionNuclear Energy Engineering Center
๐Charles A. Steen
Researcher
๐ก Discovered the Mi Vida uranium deposit near Moab, Utah (1952), a discovery that reshaped US uranium ore-genesis models (unconformity/roll-front style deposits) and sparked the Colorado Plateau uranium boom
๐ข๏ธ Resource & Energy Engineering DivisionNuclear Energy Engineering Center
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๐Rustum Roy
Researcher
๐ก Prominent materials scientist who argued for matching radioactive waste-form technology (ceramics/synthetic-rock alternatives to borosilicate glass) to the specific hazard classification of the waste being immobilized
๐ข๏ธ Resource & Energy Engineering DivisionNuclear Energy Engineering Center