18 July 2003

Plainsboro, New Jersey -- In recognition of his exceptional engineering achievements and contributions to the engineering profession, Robert Simmons, an engineer at the U.S. Department of Energy's Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), was recently elected a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) International.

Simmons, a Montgomery Township resident, is the Systems Engineering Support Manager at PPPL for the National Compact Stellarator Experiment. He joined the Laboratory's staff in 1989 as a project control manager. He has been actively involved in the operation and management of complex engineering projects and the development and implementation of project management systems for more than 35 years.

Simmons received a bachelor's degree from the Naval Academy in 1966 and a master's in business administration from Ohio State University in 1975. Before coming to PPPL, he worked in private industry as a project manager for nuclear power plant services and served nine years on U.S. Navy nuclear submarines in various capacities, including as a supply officer, operations officer, and navigator. He retired from the Navy as a reserve captain in 1991. Last year, Simmons received the first ASME Engineering and Technology Leadership Award, which has been named the Robert T. Simmons Leadership Award in his honor.

PPPL, funded by the Department of Energy and managed by Princeton University, is a collaborative national center for science and innovation leading to an attractive fusion energy source.

For further information, please contact:

Anthony R. DeMeo
Head
Information Services
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
(609) 243-2755
ademeo@pppl.gov

Patricia Wieser
Information Services
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
(609) 243-2757
pwieser@pppl.gov

To download photo, click on the link below. When the large photo appears in your browser do the following: (1) if you are on a PC click your right mouse button and select "Save Picture As..." or (2) if you are on a MAC hold down the mouse button on the photo and select "Save this Image As..."

Downloadable print-quality photo of Robert Simmons. Resolution is 300 dpi, print size is approximately 2.67 inches wide by 3.35 inches high, file type is jpeg, and file size is 365 KB. Photo by Elle Starkman, PPPL.