Phillip Finck named Associate Laboratory Director for Applied Science and Technology

ARGONNE, Ill. (April 11, 2006) – Phillip Finck has been named Associate Laboratory Director for Applied Science and Technology at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory.

The newly formed directorate includes the research divisions for Energy Technology, Decision and Information Sciences, Energy Systems, Environmental Science, Chemical Engineering and Nuclear Engineering as well as the Infrastructure Assurance Center and the Transportation Technology Research and Development Center.

Alan Foley will head Argonne's lab-wide national security programs exclusively.as director of National Security, reporting directly to the Laboratory Director.

“Alan has performed remarkably as Associate Laboratory Director for Applied Science, Technology and National Security” according to Dr. Robert Rosner, Argonne Director. “We are thrilled to have Alan focus on National Security.”

“Phillip Finck brings both practical experience with a number of reactor designs and a real international perspective to a global effort,” said Rosner. “His new role will be important for Argonne's involvement in the new Global Nuclear Energy Partnership. In addition as the architect of our integrated economic, computation and secure energy initiative we have high expectations for Finck's leadership in all areas of energy technology and science.”

Finck received his Ph.D. in nuclear engineering at MIT in 1982, and also holds an MBA from the University of Chicago. He was a mechanical engineer at Novatome, the company in charge of designing and building Superphenix from1983 to 1986, and was involved in the safety and design of fast reactors.

In 1986, he joined the staff at Argonne in neutronics methods development for the Integral Fast Reactor concept, and later for the New Production Reactor. In 1991, he became the lead for neutronics analyses for Experimental Breeder Reactor-II. In 1993, he joined the French Atomic Energy Commission, where he was head of the Reactor Physics Laboratory at the Cadarache Center, with activities in light water reactors and liquid metal reactors, criticality safety, fuel cycle physics and nuclear data. In 1995, he was elected to chair the European nuclear data project.

In 1997, Finck rejoined Argonne, where he was associate director of the Technology Development Division. He has led Argonne activities in the Advanced Accelerator Applications program since 2000, and has been heavily involved in transforming the program from accelerator-based to reactor-based transmutation.

In 2003, he was named deputy associate laboratory director for Engineering Research, where he was responsible for coordination of all nuclear energy-related activities at Argonne, including Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative and Generation-IV programs, and development of new initiatives.

He is a Fellow of the American Nuclear Society.

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 Matthew Howard (630-252-7930 or mhoward@anl.gov) at Argonne.