My story: ANS member Steve Rae

Back then, the engineering disciplines were very vertically structured with little matrix to other disciplines. So, when I entered graduate school to earn a mechanical engineering degree, I also pursued minors in nuclear energy and public policy. That arrangement was a little outside the box back then.

It was during that time that I met CP&L Vice President Mendall H. Long. Mendall was greatly respected by CP&L’s management and young engineers. He had built many of CP&L’s coal-fired power plants, and, in his later years at CP&L, he was called on to help operate nuclear plants, especially the Brunswick nuclear power plant. The young engineers like me referred to us as Mendall’s lads. Mendall was in the Merchant Marine during World War II and so he had a penchant for calling us “laddies.”

In the 1979–80 timeframe, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers was promoting the idea that engineers should become involved in the political process. I acted on that message by participating in local and state politics and earning a Commission in the North Carolina National Guard. ASME also asked me to write a newsletter for national distribution. Then, I secured a North Carolina General Assembly House internship. All these activities gave me an opportunity to get a better understanding of the democratic process while promoting North Carolina’s energy industry.

My activities in the public sphere got the attention of then-Governor James Hunt during his first term. I was humbled by the news that, so early on in my career, Gov. Hunt had selected me to receive the state’s highest honor, The Order of the Long Leaf Pine award, in recognition of my work to promote the state’s energy industry.

While in graduate school from 1980 to 1982, I also taught thermohydraulics. Who knew that years later I would be sitting across the table conducting nuclear energy business with four of my former students? In those situations, I always wondered what kind of teacher they thought I was. We continued to work together over a span of 20 to 25 years, and, in time, I got my answer. They were very gracious!

Mendall strongly encouraged me to start my nuclear career at the plant level. He believed that plant experience prepared a young engineer for the future. (I must admit he also pointed out that working in nuclear power plants paid well.)

So, in 1982, my first assignment was as a technical support engineer at the Brunswick nuclear plant. A couple of years later, the company wanted me to transfer to the Harris nuclear plant. At that time, Harris was in the final stages of construction and startup activities were underway. My task was to lead the creation of a site-wide, cloud-based configuration control system for the time when Harris would become fully operational. The configuration control system was accepted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the plant was off to commercial operation. This experience reinforced in my mind that peers and management thought I was a good organizer. In the coming decades, I would find opportunities to use those organizational skills again.

The phone rang. It was 1987. At the other end was my mentor Mendall Long again. He wanted to introduce me to a Charlotte, N.C., engineering organization called Heyward Incorporated. This company had been around since 1908 (and is still in business today). It was at Heyward where I was given my own head, became an entrepreneur, and eventually led our company into becoming the premier manufacturer’s representative firm offering custom-engineered products to the nuclear industry in the states of North and South Carolina. Our business participated in nuclear plant uprates, in the Fukushima response projects, in bringing new products into the local nuclear industry (which is not easy in the U.S. nuclear industry), and in being a major balance-of-plant vendor for Vogtle-3 and -4. Through those 30 years I was fortunate to meet so many fine personnel in the nuclear industry. I am tremendously grateful for the support of the Heyward nuclear business. In particular, I want to thank David Painter and Hugh Henkel, whom I consider two of the best nuclear valve/actuator engineers in the world. We met in my college days and enjoyed a spirited business relationship.

Late in my career, in 2019, the North Carolina State University Mechanical Engineering Department inducted me into its Hall of Fame. I remember that event for many reasons, but I especially remember joining John Privette on stage. John was a year behind me at NC State, and he went on to serve his country as an Air Force jet fighter pilot.

I retired a couple of years early, in 2021. Shortly after retiring, word came to me that Rotork Controls had created a Lifetime Achievement Award. The trophy itself was a custom desk clock made from the nuclear-­rated actuator housing cover by personnel at the factory. Mine is one of two in the world. I must recognize my mentor at Heyward, then-President John Blackmon, and my executive assistant of 25 years, Ione Hargett, for their knowledge of the industry, their wisdom, and their loyalty.

Once I retired, I found myself still with some gas in the tank, so to speak. All I really wanted to do was take my foot off the gas pedal a bit at that stage in my life. I had spent my entire career in the North Carolina nuclear energy industry. Enter former ANS President Steve Nesbit. He started talking to me about the state’s need for some version of a Nuclear Advisory Council. Once the federal government had created an atmosphere for advanced reactors, GEN 3+ gigawatt reactors, microreactors, and small modular reactors, the action moved to each individual state, and North Carolina was no exception. So, Dr. Kostadin Ivanov, department head of NC State’s Nuclear Engineering Department, joined me in coming up with a novel, ad hoc, all-volunteer North Carolina Nuclear Advisory Council in 2023. We were joined by eight other volunteers from ANS, BWXT, Duke Energy, E4 Carolinas, EPRI, GE Hitachi, and NC State, along with Senator Tillis’s energy staffer. We are pleased that the Council’s number of volunteers has grown in number to 35. My role is volunteer to the volunteers. And, of course, we had to have a newsletter, which is now distributed internationally. This has been very rewarding work that was recognized in 2024 through the presentation of the ANS Landis Award.

Greg Raschke is the director of NC State’s libraries. He is a man of vision and a friend of mine. In 2020, he could see the atmosphere that the federal government was creating for new nuclear. We were friends. He approached me with a great idea. Greg believed the industry needed a substantial Advanced Nuclear and SMR Technical and Research Library. My wife Phyllis and I were convinced this was a way to leave a legacy for the nuclear industry and to North Carolina, both of which have been so good to us throughout our lives.

As I sneak up on the age of 70, I must reflect and then admit that next to the work, getting to know hundreds of people in North Carolina’s nuclear energy industry through the years has been a most rewarding endeavor. There are excellent professionals I have worked with in our industry that I have known since I was 18 years old. Many have become dear, trustworthy friends. The nuclear energy industry is a place where these kinds of relationships can grow.

I figure I have a little less gas in the tank than I once did. Even so there is still more to be done to advocate for nuclear energy in North Carolina as our state steps closer to building its first nuclear plant since the Harris plant was declared fully operational in 1986. There is time left to make a few more promises and keep them too.

We welcome ANS members with long careers in the community to submit their own stories so that the personal history of nuclear power can be captured. For information on submitting your stories, contact nucnews@ans.org.