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Conference Spotlight
2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
Latest Magazine Issues
Aug 2026
Jan 2026
2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
September 2026
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
August 2026
Latest News
The transformation of the NRC: 50 years of commissioners
The dust is beginning to settle following the whirlwind of changes at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission over the past year, and 2025 ultimately may be viewed as a transformative year, as well as the year the NRC celebrated its golden anniversary. The 12 months of that milestone year brought more change to the agency in its composition, its mandate, and its relationship to the executive branch than any comparable period in the preceding four decades.
Now at 51 years and counting, the NRC is working with a full commission and issuing new rulemakings to both regulate and support the next round of nuclear deployments. With the turbulence of 2025 still fresh in our minds, Nuclear News decided it was a good time to revisit the professional backgrounds of all 42 NRC commissioners who have served over the agency’s 50-year history to see how the composition of the commission has evolved over time.
Pacific Basin Nuclear Conference 2024 (PBNC)
Director
Idaho National Laboratory
Dr. John C. Wagner is the director of Idaho National Laboratory and president of Battelle Energy Alliance LLC. He is responsible for management and integration of a large, multipurpose laboratory that has a mission focused on nuclear energy, national and homeland security, and energy and environment science and technology.
Wagner began serving as INL director in 2020. Wagner initially joined INL as chief scientist at the Materials and Fuels Complex in 2016 and served as associate laboratory director for Nuclear Science and Technology beginning in 2017. Prior to INL, he worked nearly 17 years at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where he held several research and leadership roles in reactor and fuel cycle technologies.
Wagner earned a bachelor’s in nuclear engineering from the Missouri University of Science and Technology in 1992, and master’s and doctorate degrees from the Pennsylvania State University in 1994 and 1997, respectively.
Last modified May 3, 2024, 6:58am MDT
