INL researcher nominated as nuclear energy assistant secretary

President Donald Trump has announced his intent to nominate Dr. Rita Baranwal as Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy at the Department of Energy.

Baranwal currently serves as Director of the Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) at the Idaho National Laboratory.

Idaho Senator James Risch called the White House decision an excellent choice. “As the director of DOE’s Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) initiative at INL, the nation’s flagship nuclear energy facility, and previous service as Director of Technology Development and Application at Westinghouse, Dr. Rita Baranwal is uniquely qualified for this position and has a thorough understanding of DOE’s assets, specifically the national labs, and nuclear programs. The men and women who work at INL are exceptionally talented, and I know Dr. Baranwal will make Idaho proud,” said Risch.

Prior to her work at GAIN, she served as Director of Technology Development & Application at Westinghouse and was a manager in Materials Technology at Bechtel Bettis, Inc., where she led Research and Development in nuclear fuel materials for U.S. naval reactors. Dr. Baranwal earned her B.A. in Materials Science and Engineering from MIT and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. She serves on Advisory Boards for MIT’s Materials Research Laboratory and UC Berkeley’s Nuclear Engineering Department.