Dr. Kathryn McCarthy is Vice-President, Research and Development for the Canadian Nuclear Laboratories.
From 2012 to 2017 she was Director of Domestic Programs for Nuclear Science and Technology (NS&T) at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), and the Director of the Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program Technical Integration Office for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE). Additional past positions include Deputy Associate Laboratory Director for NS&T, and Systems Analysis Campaign National Technical Director for the DOE-NE Fuel Cycle R&D Program; she was employed at the INL for 25 years. She received her degrees in Nuclear Engineering: B.S., University of Arizona; M.S. and Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. McCarthy was a Guest Scientist at the Kernforschungszentrum in Germany in 1989, worked in the Soviet Union under the DOE US/USSR Young Scientist Program (1989-1990), at the Efremov and Kurchatov Institutes in Russia, and the Latvian Academy of Science.
Dr. McCarthy is a member of the American Nuclear Society (ANS), and has held multiple offices at the local and national level. Her recent awards include the an ANS Presidential citation in 2015 for “Leadership and guidance of the Light Water Reactor Sustainability effort….that has helped set the stage for US power companies…..to make informed decisions regarding subsequent license renewal…,” and the 2011 Girl Scouts of Silver Sage Women of Today and Tomorrow Award.
A transition in fuels is underway. While trusted sources continue to evolve and new varieties are entering the market, costs are volatile and the questions about their environmental and economic impacts keep growing. Low and zero-carbon energy is currently in short supply and the technological barriers to its adoption can be daunting.