DENNIS SPURGEON

Dennis Spurgeon was sworn in on 3 April 3 2006 as the first Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy (NE) at the US Department of Energy in more than a decade. In this capacity, Mr. Spurgeon is the senior nuclear technology official in the US Government.

Mr. Spurgeon is responsible for the Department’s nuclear energy enterprise, including nuclear technology research and development, management of the Department’s nuclear technology infrastructure, and support to nuclear education in the United States. NE’s nuclear technology infrastructure is comprised of hot cells, test reactors, accelerators and other highly specialized facilities that support nuclear research and development, materials testing, and production of isotopes for medicine and radioisotope power systems for space and national security users. He is responsible for execution of a $1 billion annual federal budget (FY 2008).

Mr. Spurgeon leads the recently-announced Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP), a comprehensive strategy aimed at accelerating the demonstration of a more proliferation resistant closed fuel cycle and bringing the benefits of nuclear energy to the world in a safer and more secure manner, reducing the possibility that nuclear energy could be used for non-peaceful purposes. GNEP is part of the President’s Advanced Energy Initiative. Most recently, Assistant Secretary Spurgeon served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for USEC Inc, an international supplier of enriched uranium for nuclear plants. Prior to that, he served as Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and principal owner of Swiftships, an international leader in shipbuilding for commercial and military markets.

Assistant Secretary Spurgeon held posts in the Ford administration, including an assignment as Assistant Director for Fuel Cycle in the US Energy Research and Development Administration. He was a member of the White House task force that developed President Ford’s nuclear policy. Earlier in his career, as a US Naval officer, he served as technical assistant to Commissioner Tommy Thompson and later to Dr Glenn Seaborg, Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission and predecessor agency of the department.

He also held executive positions at the former United Nuclear Corporation, where as Chief Operating Officer he managed the manufacturing of reactor cores for the Navy and operation of the Department’s former nuclear reactor, located at the Hanford Reservation. He previously worked for the General Atomic Company, where he assisted in the development of nuclear reactor plants for electric power generation. He served in the US Navy, achieving the rank of Captain. Mr. Spurgeon graduated with distinction from the US Naval Academy. He holds a Masters of Science in nuclear engineering and the degree of Nuclear Engineer from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.