Commissioner Peter B. Lyons

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The Honorable Peter B. Lyons was sworn in as a Commissioner of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on January 25, 2005.

As a Commissioner, Dr. Lyons has focused on the safety of operating reactors and on the importance of learning from operating experience, even as new reactor licensing and possible construction emerges. He has emphasized that NRC and its licensees must remain strong and vigilant components of our Nation's integrated defenses against terrorism, and he has been a consistent voice for improving NRC partnerships with the States. An extensive research background underlies his advocacy for an active and forward-looking NRC research program to support sound regulatory decisions, address current issues and anticipate future ones. Because NRC's success depends directly on maintaining a competent and dedicated workforce, Dr. Lyons continues to be a strong proponent of science and technology education, recruiting for diversity, employee training and development programs, and an open and collaborative working environment.

From 1969 to 1996, Dr. Lyons worked in progressively more responsible positions at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. During that time he served as director for industrial partnerships, deputy associate director for energy and environment, and deputy associate director-defense research and applications. While at Los Alamos, he spent over a decade supporting nuclear test diagnostics. Before becoming a Commissioner, Dr. Lyons served as Science Advisor on the staff of U.S. Senator Pete Domenici and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources where he focused on military and civilian uses of nuclear technology, national science policy, and nuclear non-proliferation. Dr. Lyons has published more that 100 technical papers, holds three patents related to fiber optics and plasma diagnostics, and served as chairman of the NATO Nuclear Effects Task Group for five years.

A native of Nevada, Dr. Lyons received his doctorate in nuclear astrophysics from the California Institute of Technology in 1969 and earned his undergraduate degree in physics and mathematics from the University of Arizona in 1964. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, was elected to 16 years on the Los Alamos School Board and spent six years on the University of New Mexico-Los Alamos Branch Advisory Board.

Dr. Lyons is a resident of Virginia.