Nils J. Diaz, Chairman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. (born in Havana)
On April 1, 2003, US President George W. Bush designated the Cuban American professor Dr. Nils J. Diaz as Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The Chairman is the principal executive officer of and the official spokesman for the NRC.
As principal executive officer, the Chairman is responsible for conducting the administrative, organizational, long-range planning, budgetary, and certain personnel functions of the agency. The Chairman has ultimate authority for all NRC functions pertaining to an emergency involving an NRC license.
Prior to his appointment, Dr. Diaz was Professor of Nuclear Engineering Sciences at the University of Florida, Director of the Innovative Nuclear Space Power Institute (INSPI) – a national consortium of industries, universities and national laboratories – and President and Principal Engineer of Florida Nuclear Associates, Inc. Dr. Diaz’ career includes 11 years as Director of INSPI for the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization/Department of Defense, two years in California as Associate Dean for Research at the California State University Long Beach, one year in Spain as Principal Advisor to Spain’s Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and six years at nuclear utilities and vendors.
From 1971 to 1996, Dr. Diaz consulted on nuclear engineering and energetics to private industry, the U. S. Government and several foreign governments; he also co-owned six small corporations.
Dr. Diaz holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Nuclear Engineering Sciences from the University of Florida, and a B. S. Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Villanova, Havana. He has received formal training and practice in Nuclear Medicine and Health Physics and was licensed as a Senior Reactor Operator for 12 years by the NRC. He has published more than 70 refereed papers on national and international journals.
Dr. Diaz’s term as Chairman of the NRC ended on June 30, 2006.
He is a Fellow of the American Nuclear Society, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
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The Cuban History, Hollywood.
Arnoldo Varona, Editor.