Advisor
Advisor

Biography

Steven Ross joined Battelle in July 1995. He is a nuclear engineer with experience in project management, transportation analyses, probabilistic risk analysis, safety analyses, and environmental impact analyses. He is familiar with U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) weapons complex facilities. Throughout his career, Ross has been the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) technical lead on high-profile DOE projects, integrating resources from across PNNL, DOE, and industry experts.

Manager – Eight-axle Railcar Design and Testing

Currently, Ross manages the effort for DOE to design, build, and test an eight-axle railcar (Fortis) to transport spent nuclear fuel (SNF) to a final repository or to an interim storage location. This is a multi-year effort with expected funding of greater than $10M. Fortis is equipped with high-tech sensors and monitoring systems that report 11 different performance features to operators in real time. The Association of American Railroads Equipment Engineering Committee signed off on the design in January 2021, allowing DOE to begin fabricating and testing the prototype in compliance with the rail industry’s highest design standard for railcars transporting SNF and high-level radioactive waste.

Deputy Manager of DOE-NE Spent Fuel and Waste Science and Technology

Ross has served in this role since fiscal year 2017. During this time, he was instrumental in an international multi-modal transportation test. It was a joint DOE/Spanish/Korean international project consisting of an 8-month, 9,400-mile triathlon-like data-gathering test to quantify shocks and vibrations experienced by surrogate SNF during rail, ship, and truck transport.

  • Research is critical to understanding the mechanical behavior of SNF during different modes of transport.
  • Awarded the Secretary of Energy’s Achievement Award in 2018.
  • Used by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to potentially inform future regulatory decisions regarding the transport of SNF.

Ross was also instrumental in a spent fuel program of international significance. This involved the receipt of 10 full-length high-burnup SNF rods at the Radiochemical Processing Laboratory (RPL) (DOE-NE Sibling Pin Project) as part of the DOE-NE High Burnup Spent Fuel Data Project. The data and associated models will be used to expand the technical bases for long-term storage and transportation of high-burnup SNF. Also, the receipt of SNF at PNNL is a significant milestone for the Laboratory.

Tritium Sustainability Project Risk Support

Ross is the principal investigator for the Tritium Sustainability Project (TSP) risk analysis. In this effort, he is leading other staff at PNNL in efforts to identify issues and recommended handling actions to increase the confidence of the project reaching its goals of national significance. In this role, the team provides leadership, processes, methods, and tools for identifying, assessing, and managing TSP threats and opportunities with the objective of identifying and expediting risk mitigation actions, increasing confidence in near-term and long-term tritium production goals and keeping National Nuclear Security Administration management informed of risk levels and trends. This risk management process encompasses all aspects of the TSP, including Tritium Producing Burnable Adsorber Rod (TPBAR) fabrication, TPBAR irradiation, irradiated TPBAR storage and shipment, tritium extraction, and program-level risks. Managing these risks with effective handling strategies will improve the confidence in meeting the project’s near-term and long-term goals.

Education

  • MS in nuclear engineering, University of New Mexico, 1987
  • BS in nuclear engineering, University of New Mexico, 1985

Affiliations and Professional Service

Invited Speaker/Conferences

  • Invited Speaker – Mitsubishi Research Institute, Headquarters, Tokyo, Japan. Spent Fuel Seminar – January 30, 2020. Presentation – DOE-NE Multi-Modal Transportation Test.
  • Session Co-Chair for the PATRAM Conference, Member of the Paper Review Committee for the PATRAM Conference.

Awards and Recognitions

  • PNNL Pathway Honoree – DOE High-Burnup Cask Demo Project (2020)
  • DOE Energy Secretary’s Award DOE-NE Sibling Pin Research Program (2019)
  • DOE Energy Secretary’s Award DOE-NE Multi-Modal Transportation Test (2018)
  • Aoki Award for Distinguished Poster Presentation, 18th International Symposium on the Packaging and Transportation of Radioactive Materials (PATRAM), Kobe, Japan (2017)

International Recognition

  • Co-chair of the International Atomic Energy Agency Consultancy Group to develop an approach to define generic test conditions (GETEC) for dual-purpose spent fuel casks. Steven has served this role for the past three years, supporting three consultancies and three technical meetings. The purpose of the GETEC project is to develop an approach for the derivation of generic test conditions for dry storage of SNF in dual-purpose casks (DPCs) and for handling and on-site transport of DPCs based on the results of safety assessments for storage, handling, and on-site transportation. The project should assist member states in establishing their national safety requirements for DPCs that are to be transported after several decades of storage.

Publications

2019

  • Preliminary Efforts Related to 8-axle Rail Car Design for Transporting Spent Nuclear Fuel, Steven Ross, Anand Prabhakaran, and David Brabb. Proceedings of the 19th International Symposium on the Packaging and Transportation of Radioactive Materials PATRAM 2019 August 2019, New Orleans, LA

2017

  • Test Plan Test Plan for Rail-Cask Tests: Equipos Nucleares S.A. and US Department of Energy: Normal-Conditions-of-Transport Tests of Surrogate PWR Fuel Assemblies in an ENSA ENUN 32P Cask; McConnell, Paul, el al. DOE FCRD-UFD-2016-000067, January 2017.
  • Maheras S.J., R.E. Best, S.B. Ross, J.L. England, L.M. Massaro, and P.J. Jensen. 2017. "PRELIMINARY EVALUATION OF REMOVING SNF FROM SHUTDOWN SITES - 2016 UPDATE." In 16th International High-Level Radioactive Waste Management Conference (IHLRWM 2017), April 9-13, 2017, Charlotte, North Carolina, 322-329. La Grange Park, Illinois:American Nuclear Society. PNNL-SA-123108. 
  • Maheras S.J., R.E. Best, S.B. Ross, K.A. Buxton, J.L. England, P.E. McConnell, and L.M. Massaro, et al. 2017. Preliminary Evaluation of Removing Used Nuclear Fuel from Shutdown Sites. PNNL-22676 Rev. 10. Richland, WA: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Preliminary Evaluation of Removing Used Nuclear Fuel from Shutdown Sites
  • Test Plan Test Plan for Rail-Cask Tests: Equipos Nucleares S.A. and US Department of Energy: Normal-Conditions-of-Transport Tests of Surrogate PWR Fuel Assemblies in an ENSA ENUN 32P Cask; McConnell, Paul, el al. DOE FCRD-UFD-2016-000067, January 2017.

2016

  • ENSA/DOE Transport Shock and Vibration Test Plan, Steven Ross, et al. Proceedings of the 18th International Symposium on the Packaging and Transportation of Radioactive Materials PATRAM 2016 September 18-23, 2016, Kobe, Japan

2015

  • Maheras S.J., R.E. Best, S.B. Ross, K.A. Buxton, J.L. England, P.E. McConnell, and L.M. Massaro, et al. 2015. Preliminary Evaluation of Removing Used Nuclear Fuel from Shutdown Sites. PNNL-22676 Rev. 6. Richland, WA: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Preliminary Evaluation of Removing Used Nuclear Fuel from Shutdown Sites
  • Ross S.B., N.A. Klymyshyn, P.J. Jensen, R.E. Best, S.J. Maheras, P.E. McConnell, and J. Orchard. 2015. "Rail Shock and Vibration Pre-Test Modeling of a Used Nuclear Fuel Assembly." In International High-Level Radioactive Waste Management Conference: Real World Solutions for Integrated Management of Used Fuel and HLW, April 12-16, 2015, Charleston, South Carolina. La Grange Park, Illinois:American Nuclear Society. PNNL-SA-106815. 

2014

  • Maheras S.J., R.E. Best, S.B. Ross, K.A. Buxton, J.L. England, and P.E. McConnell. 2014. "Preliminary Evaluation of Removing Used Nuclear Fuel from Shutdown Sites." In 2014 ANS Winter Meeting and Technology Expo, November 9-13, 2014, Anaheim, CA. La Grange Park, Illinois:American Nuclear Society. PNNL-SA-104823. 
  • Maheras S.J., R.E. Best, S.B. Ross, K.A. Buxton, J.L. England, P.E. McConnell, and L.M. Massaro, et al. 2014. Preliminary Evaluation of Removing Used Nuclear Fuel from Shutdown Sites. PNNL-22676 Rev. 4. Richland, WA: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Preliminary Evaluation of Removing Used Nuclear Fuel from Shutdown Sites
  • Ross S.B., R.E. Best, N.A. Klymyshyn, P.J. Jensen, and S.J. Maheras. 2014. USED FUEL RAIL SHOCK AND VIBRATION TESTING OPTIONS ANALYSIS. PNNL-23709. Richland, WA: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. USED FUEL RAIL SHOCK AND VIBRATION TESTING OPTIONS ANALYSIS
  • Ross S.B., R.E. Best, S.J. Maheras, P.J. Jensen, J.L. England, and D. LeDuc. 2014. Used Fuel Testing Transportation Model. PNNL-23668. Richland, WA: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Used Fuel Testing Transportation Model

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2005