Editor's Note: Founded by the National Society of Professional Engineers in 1951, National Engineers Week is dedicated to ensuring a diverse and well-educated future engineering workforce by increasing understanding of and interest in engineering and technology careers.

That goal dovetails with a critical effort underway in U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management (EM ) to recruit, develop and maintain the next-generation workforce EM will rely on for years to come. The world's largest nuclear cleanup program achieved one of its 2022 priorities with the development of a program-wide succession plan to help identify and develop the next generation of program leaders.

Two recruiting efforts are upcoming:

• Waste Management Symposia Job Fair: Feb. 29 and March 1, virtual and in person options. Read an EM Update story about the job fair and register here.
• Employment Information Session: Feb. 22 from 1 to 2 p.m. EST. Virtual session. Get all the information and register here.

In this issue of EM Update, we highlight the contributions of four engineers across the EM complex in a series of interviews below.

When did you begin working at the Hanford Site and what got you interested in the cleanup mission?

I began working at Hanford in 2007 as part of the Environmental Management Professional Development Corps (EMPDC), a program that focused on hiring recent graduates into various careers across the EM complex. After two years in the EMPDC program, I transitioned to working for the Office of River Protection as a general engineer in operations oversight, facility representative, and currently, a safety system oversight engineer.

While I was in college at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, I became interested in helping the environment while pursuing my dual major in electrical engineering and science, technology, and society, and even joined a student group focused on improving sustainability and protecting the environment at our school. When I saw DOE EM recruiting at my school’s career fair, it seemed like the perfect job for me — using my engineering degree to do something good for the environment and the Pacific Northwest, where I was born and raised.

Can you tell us a little about a project you have worked on?

I worked on the Tank-Side Cesium Removal (TSCR) demonstration project, the first large-scale treatment of radioactive and chemical waste from large underground tanks at the Hanford Site. As an instrumentation and control safety system oversight engineer, I performed oversight of the contractor’s development of new methodology for designating instruments as safety significant, and I verified that these instruments had sufficient reliability to satisfy requirements. As the TSCR facility progressed from design to operations, I took on the role of readiness manager and coordinated with integrated project team members to ensure equipment, processes and personnel at the contractor and EM were ready to start nuclear operations.

How is your expertise making an impact on an EM project, or the mission in general?

My engineering background, attention to detail, and ability to organize data have been an asset to two programs that I manage: the Hanford Readiness Program and the Hanford Technical Qualification Program. Both of these programs are important in achieving the EM mission at Hanford. The Hanford Readiness Program verifies that nuclear facilities are ready to start up in a manner that protects workers, the public and the environment from adverse consequences. And as the technical qualification program manager for federal employees, I help the organization ensure employees have the technical competencies needed to accomplish the EM mission in a safe and efficient manner.

What would be your message to someone interested in a career with EM?

I am an advocate for EM’s mission, and I support the radioactive and chemical waste cleanup work at Hanford in a variety of ways. Since working at Hanford, I have been an active member of the Society of Women Engineers, where I have planned and participated in STEM outreach events for students and professional development events for working engineers. The outreach to students includes hands-on activities for elementary and middle school students, speaker panels targeting college students, science fair awards for female high school students and scholarships for females studying engineering. The outreach events encourage students to pursue careers in science and technology and become part of the next generation to advance the EM cleanup mission, and the professional events and conferences show how engineering is a force for good and supports DOE’s broader mission for science and technology solutions to the nation’s challenges.

When did you begin working at Savannah River Site and what got you interested in the cleanup mission?

I started working at SRS with Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, as a design authority with the Surplus Plutonium Disposition (SPD) Project in 2020. Having worked both with the Nuclear Navy as an officer on the USS Hartford and working at Plant Vogtle 1&2 as an engineer provided good experience with the type of work involved with the cleanup of Cold War era materials. In 2022, I accepted a position with DOE-Savannah River as a facility representative, providing oversight for common site infrastructure and area completion projects.

Can you tell us a little about a project you have worked on?

My current work involves the operations, maintenance and upkeep of common infrastructure and some of the cleanup efforts involved in area completion, such as the removal and remediation of volatile chemicals, mercury, tritium and other radionuclides in soils and water at SRS. The SPD Project’s purpose was to dilute and dispose of Cold War era plutonium that is not needed for current nuclear arms and was in conceptual design and the pre-construction phase while I worked on it. The project provided great experience in design of nuclear facilities.

How is your expertise making an impact on an EM project or the mission in general?

My background of operations and maintenance of systems, along with radiological work experience, has allowed me to quickly learn the plant systems and assess the contractor’s performance at SRS as well as provide recommendations to improve performance. I am able to provide useful feedback to the contractor based on my previous experience and provide mentoring to my peers who are still learning the unique processes and controls that are particular to nuclear facilities.

What would be your message to someone interested in a career with EM?

SRS is a great place to work where many different projects and operations allow broad experience in construction, startup, operations and mission completion while many worksites focus on only one or two of these. Working with EM allows flexibility to focus on different areas while providing a great long-term career with opportunities to travel or work at multiple sites in the United States and abroad.

When did you begin working at the Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office and what got you interested in the cleanup mission?

As a new college graduate, I began my career at PPPO’s Paducah Site 18 years ago, hiring in with the remediation contractor in 2005. After moving to the site office as a support contractor, I began my federal career with DOE starting in 2015.

Can you tell us a little about a project you have worked on?

Currently I am serving as acting site lead for PPPO’s Paducah Site, managing day-to-day operations of the cleanup program. I’m also the federal project director for stabilization activities, which includes the R-114 project. One of our target projects, R-114 will remove 8.5 million pounds of hazardous refrigerant from the site. In calendar year 2023, we are focused on an Office of Environmental Management priority goal of removing 1 million pounds of R-114 from the Paducah Site.

How is your expertise making an impact on an EM project or the mission in general?

I have been fortunate to have worked in most of the primary cleanup areas at the site. Early in my career I was involved in the remediation area, working with soils and groundwater contamination at the site. I moved to enrichment operations, allowing me to assist in transferring the plant back to DOE for cleanup, which gave me the opportunity to work with DOE on the deactivation and demolition side. I believe my broad technical experience provides unique input on programs, procedures and the execution of Paducah cleanup projects.

What would be your message to someone interested in a career with EM?

Go for it! There is a lot of opportunity at Paducah and EM sites in general within and beyond science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Since the site functions as a small city, there are business professionals, fire and security professionals, health and safety and many others. Like myself, there are also opportunities to move within the organization to build your skillset and find the right role that best fits your needs.

When did you begin working at Oak Ridge and what got you interested in the cleanup mission?

I began working for the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) in 2011. Prior to that, I worked as a design engineer at the St. Lucie Nuclear Plant in Florida. Ever since my active military service was up, I had always wanted to continue my public service as a federal employee. I was looking for opportunities closer to home in Tennessee. Initially, the location was the determining factor, but I quickly fell in love with the work when I better understood what Oak Ridge was about. I have been here ever since.

Can you tell us a little about a project you have worked on?

I am responsible for all the EM-related cleanup work at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The cool thing is it includes a plethora of different projects ranging from the Uranium-233 Disposition Project, demolition of excess and contaminated former reactors and isotope research labs, transuranic waste processing and disposition, waste treatment infrastructure construction projects, and operations and maintenance of hundreds of facilities. It’s a problem solver’s dream.

Included in those projects is the demolition of the Low Intensity Test Reactor, which is listed as an EM priority for 2023.

How is your expertise making an impact on an EM project or the mission in general?

My current role with OREM involves applying all of my previous experience with the military and private industry, whether it’s understanding how to frame and solve a problem or working with multiple stakeholders to accomplish a major task or project. I think my biggest contribution is moving everything forward and maximizing our time and resources to get the cleanup mission completed.

What would be your message to someone interested in a career with EM?

OREM is a great place to work if you are passionate about the environment and public service. There are few other places where you have the potential to make such a significant contribution to the environment and our country.