Advisor, Nuclear Fuels and Reactor Technologies
Advisor, Nuclear Fuels and Reactor Technologies

Biography

Chad Painter joined Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in 1992 as a nuclear engineer. Painter is currently the senior technical advisor for the U.S. High Performance Research Reactor project's Fuel Fabrication pillar, and helps to identify improvements in both fabrication and inspection methods. These improvements are specific to a new high-density, high-assay, low-enriched uranium molybdenum alloy-plate fuel being developed and qualified for use in research of domestic reactors. 

As a past fabrication task manager for the Tritium Technology program, Painter led a large multi-disciplinary team across the Laboratory that was responsible for developing and implementing fabrication processes to include weld development, process qualification and non-destructive evaluation methods (e.g., air gage, eddy current, X-ray, helium leak, and radiography). Painter also led an expert team at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in building and licensing a plutonium-sealed source for Department of Homeland Security and an irradiation test capsule for use in the Japanese JOYO fast reactor in support of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter project. 

Disciplines and Skills

  • Project Management
  • Management and Leadership
  • Nuclear Engineering
  • Nuclear Fuels and Materials
  • Fuel Performance
  • Irradiated Materials Characterization
  • R&D
  • Reactor Operations
  • Proposal Writing
  • Program Management
  • Engineering
  • Engineering Management
  • Power Plants
  • Simulations
  • Systems Engineering
  • Power Generation
  • Reactor
  • International Programs
  • International Relations

Education

  • PhD in Materials Science and Engineering, Washington State University
  • BS in Chemistry, Eastern Washington University
  • BS in Biology, Eastern Washington University

Patents