The Honorable Ho Nieh was designated as the Chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission by U.S. President Donald Trump on January 8, 2026. Chairman Nieh had previously been sworn in as an NRC Commissioner on December 4, 2025 for a term ending June 30, 2029. He is the first former NRC resident inspector to serve as a Commissioner.

Immediately prior to this appointment, Chairman Nieh served as an officer of Southern Nuclear on loan to the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO). He joined Southern Nuclear in March 2021 to assume the role of Vice President of Regulatory Affairs after more than 20 years as an NRC staff member.

While at the NRC, Chairman Nieh served as Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, where he was responsible for reactor safety licensing and oversight programs for operating and new reactors. His other roles at the NRC included: Senior Resident Inspector; Director of the Division Reactor Projects in Region 1, in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania; Director of Division Inspection and Regional Support at NRC headquarters; and Chief of Staff for Commissioner William Ostendorff.

In addition, Chairman Nieh previously worked at the Nuclear Energy Agency as Director of the Division of Nuclear Safety Technology and Regulation, where he enhanced international cooperation for nuclear safety regulatory authorities and research institutes. He also served as Communications Advisor to the International Atomic Energy Agency and worked at Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory as a civilian instructor for the Navy’s Nuclear Power Program.

Chairman Nieh earned his Bachelor of Engineering in marine engineering from New York Maritime College and is a graduate of the United States Naval Nuclear Power School. He attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for graduate studies in nuclear engineering and earned a Master of Business Administration from Johns Hopkins University. Chairman Nieh completed the Executive Education in Strategic Management program from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. He also completed the INPO Senior Nuclear Plant Manager program.