Frank H. Akers, Jr.

Associate Laboratory Director

National Security

Frank H. Akers Jr. Dr. Akers is responsible for managing a focused research and development portfolio that includes nonproliferation and threat reduction, arms and export control, homeland security, and counterterrorism technologies for the National Nuclear Security Administration and the U.S. Department of Energy. Dr. Akers also coordinates ORNL activities with the U.S. Department of Defense and other federal agencies with missions involving national security, homeland security, law enforcement, and public safety.

Dr. Akers graduated from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and earned both a master’s degreee and a Ph.D. from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. He also holds a master’s degree in military arts and sciences and has attended several executive development courses at Harvard, the University of Michigan, and the Center for Creative Leadership.

During a distinguished military career with the United States Army, Dr. Akers held numerous prominent positions, including Chief of Staff for the XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg; Assistant Division Commander (Operations), 25th Infantry Division (Light), Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; Assistant Chief of Staff, Operations (G‑3), XVIII Airborne Corps during Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm; Director of Operations (J‑3), Joint Special Operations Command; and Chief of Staff, 82d Airborne Division. Senior-level commands include 2d Battalion, 9th Infantry, 2d Infantry Division, Republic of Korea; 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry, 82d Airborne Division; 3d Brigade, 82d Airborne Division; and Deputy Commander, United States Army Combined Arms Training Activity, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. His multiple combat tours include service in Vietnam, Grenada, Panama, Southwest Asia, Haiti, and numerous special operations activities.

After retiring as a Brigadier General and prior to joining UT-Battelle, Dr. Akers served as Vice President, Advanced Technologies, for BWXT Y-12, LLC, and Lockheed Martin Energy Systems. In those positions, he had leadership/management responsibilities for business units with a technical focus that included the National Prototype Center, Advanced Computing Technologies, Advanced Infrastructure Management Technologies, the National Security Program Office, and the Oak Ridge Centers for Manufacturing Technology.