Nuclear engineer; Laboratory Fellow
Nuclear engineer; Laboratory Fellow

Biography

Dr. Eric Smith is a laboratory fellow and sector manager at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). His primary research and development contributions have been in nondestructive assay methods for nuclear fuel cycle safeguards, trace radionuclide detection techniques, and modeling methods for safeguards and nuclear security scenarios. Since 2018, he has managed PNNL’s portfolio in the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Office of Defense Programs and the NNSA Office of Safety, Infrastructure, and Operations. This nuclear stockpile partnerships sector includes PNNL’s longstanding leadership roles in the production of tritium for the stockpile and technical support for the packaging and transportation of nuclear materials, as well as our expanding contributions in material characterization, advanced diagnostics, data analytics, cybersecurity, and risk analysis. From 2014 to 2018, he managed PNNL’s work for NNSA’s Office of Nonproliferation and Arms Control, which includes international safeguards, nuclear verification, and nuclear-related export control. From 2010 to 2013, Eric was on assignment with the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Department of Safeguards, where he worked on unattended nondestructive assay instrumentation and safeguards concepts for various fuel cycle facilities, including uranium enrichment plants, heavy water reactors, spent fuel handling facilities, and geologic repositories. As a staff engineer at Argonne National Laboratory (1998 to 2001), Eric developed nondestructive assay techniques and instruments for material accountancy, particularly pertaining to electrometallurgical reprocessing of fast reactor fuel.

Disciplines and Skills

  • Nuclear Engineering
  • Nuclear Modeling
  • Nuclear Simulation
  • Radiation Monitoring

Education

  • University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Doctor of Philosophy, Nuclear Engineering
  • University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Master of Science, Nuclear Engineering
  • Oregon State University, Bachelor of Science, Nuclear Engineering