Inés R. Triay, Ph.D.

Inés R. Triay, Ph.D. U.S. Department of Energy Inés R. Triay, Ph.D., was named Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the United States Department of Energy’s Environmental Management Program in October 2007. The focus of her work is providing leadership for the safe and efficient cleanup of radioactive waste from our nation’s Cold War nuclear weapon production and research activities. This is the largest, most diverse, and technically complex environmental cleanup program in the world, involving more than 100 geographic sites located in more than 30 states. Prior to her current position, she served as the cleanup program’s Chief Operations Officer and Deputy Chief Operations Officer. During her tenure in these positions, the program completed the cleanup of the Department’s Rocky Flats site in Colorado and the Fernald site in Ohio. She also played an instrumental role in the commencement of remote-handled transuranic waste disposal operations at the Department’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico. Prior to her executive positions in Washington D.C., she served as Manager of the Department’s Carlsbad Field Office in New Mexico. During her tenure there, the number of transuranic waste shipments to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant increased from one or two per week to 25 per week. She also spearheaded a national effort to significantly accelerate cleanup of transuranic waste sites, culminating in a plan that completes the disposal of all legacy transuranic waste 20 years early. Before managing the Carlsbad Field Office, she held several key positions at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Her honors include the Presidential Rank Award, the Wendell Weart Waste Management Lifetime Achievement Award, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ Dixy Lee Ray Award for Environmental Protection, the National Atomic Museum’s National Award of Nuclear Science, and numerous awards from the Department and Los Alamos National Laboratory recognizing her for excellence in performance. Dr. Triay received her bachelor’s degree in chemistry, magna cum laude, and her doctorate degree in physical chemistry from the University of Miami in Florida. She is a member of numerous professional organizations and has produced more than 150 articles, papers, reports, and presentations for professional conferences and workshops, as well as major trade publications. She is American Chemical Society certified.