Tom McLaughlin and his Impact on the Field

Dr. Thomas P. McLaughlin (Tom), a professional in the nuclear field for more than 50 years, passed away on November 13, 2024 after a battle with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Tom began his career at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory in 1967 as a graduate student working in critical experiments research at Pajarito Site (TA-18). Since the late 1970s, Tom focused on and was involved in all aspects of nuclear criticality safety, from providing guidance for plant operations with fissile material to ad-vising the Departments of Energy (DOE), Transportation, and Defense and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. He actively supported the American Nuclear Society, DOE, and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) criticality safety standards, serving from 1993 until 2010 as the Chair of ANSI/ANS Subcommittee 8 which oversees and promulgates all criticality safety standards in the United States. In ‘retirement’, Tom remained active in the NCS community as a friend, mentor, and proponent of common-sense safety. This session will reflect on Tom’s career and legacy.