Argonne's Bill Shack to chair NRC advisory committee

ARGONNE, Ill. (Jan. 22, 2007) – William J. Shack, a senior engineer at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory, has been named chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards.

The NRC's Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) was established by an act of Congress and provides advice to the commissioners independently from the NRC staff on the safety and safeguards aspects of nuclear facilities and the adequacy of safety standards.

Shack is research program director in Argonne's Nuclear Engineering Division. He joined the Argonne staff in 1975, after receiving his bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a master's degree and doctorate in applied mechanics from the University of California-Berkeley. Previously, Shack was an associate professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at MIT. His work has included measurement and modeling of residual stresses, fracture mechanics analyses of stress corrosion crack growth, assessment of leak-before-break behavior in piping systems, and fatigue of reactor materials. He has been a member of the ACRS since 1993.

“We are extremely happy and proud that Bill was recognized with this distinction,” said Hussein Khalil, director of Argonne's Nuclear Engineering Division.  “It's a testament to his expertise, judgment and stature in the field of nuclear reactor safety.  Argonne has been very fortunate to have a person of Bill's caliber leading our light water reactor safety research.”

Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology. The nation's first national laboratory, Argonne conducts leading-edge basic and applied scientific research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne researchers work closely with researchers from hundreds of companies, universities, and federal, state and municipal agencies to help them solve their specific problems, advance America 's scientific leadership and prepare the nation for a better future. With employees from more than 60 nations, Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science.

For more information, please contact Steve McGregor (630/252-5580 or media@anl.gov) at Argonne.