Rita Baranwal, assistant energy secretary for nuclear energy in the Trump administration’s Department of Energy, announced last Friday (Jan. 8) that she was leaving the job at the end of the day. She had served in the job as the top nuclear R&D official in DOE since July 2019. She succeeded the legendary Pete Lyons, who had served in the job since 2011.
Before becoming head of the Office of Nuclear Energy, Baranwal directed the Idaho National Laboratory’s Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) program, starting in 2016.
Baranwal’s expertise is in materials science and engineering, with a BS degree from MIT and masters and doctoral degrees from the University of Michigan. Before joining INL, she worked at Westinghouse and Bechtel Bettis. She is a fellow of the American Nuclear Society.
She is also a certified and licensed scuba diver.
Upon her departure from DOE, she tweeted, “It has been an absolute honor to serve in this capacity to help advance our U.S. nuclear energy R&D. I plan to continue to use my talents to promote, lead, and advance our nation’s largest source of clean energy so that our nation and my family will have a cleaner and more sustainable planet to protect.”
ANS executive director Craig Piercy said, “The American nuclear community is grateful for your service to the nation. You have made significant contributions to the advancement of nuclear science and tech during your tenure as DOE NE-1. We wish you all the best in the next chapter.”
–Kennedy Maize
kenmaize@gmail.com