United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Office of Public Affairs

Washington, DC 20555

Phone 301-415-8200 Fax 301-415-2234

Internet:opa@nrc.gov

No. 98-66 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Friday, May 8, 1998)

NRC EMPLOYEES RECEIVE PRESIDENTIAL RANK AWARDS

Presidential Rank awards were presented to three Nuclear Regulatory

Commission employees this week at a ceremony chaired by Vice President Al Gore.

The honorees - Janice E. Moore, Brian W. Sheron, and Jack R. Strosnider, Jr., - were

among more than 200 members of the Senior Executive Service throughout the federal

government who were recognized for demonstrating exceptional performance and

outstanding leadership.

Janice Moore, Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Advanced Reactors and

Special Proceedings in the Office of the General Counsel, is a 20-year veteran of the

agency. She received the award for her expert legal advice and counsel to the

Commission as well as her exceptional legal skills in areas such as streamlining the

licensing process for nuclear power plants and encouraging standardization of reactor

design. She also managed litigation of the first application for a private uranium

enrichment facility, launching consideration of environmental justice as an issue. Ms.

Moore participated in a settlement of the Comanche Peak operating license

proceeding, which saved years of protracted litigation while providing an innovative

solution to allow the citizens’ group that had challenged the plant an avenue to ensure

its concerns were addressed. She is respected both within the agency and by the

nuclear industry for her ability to grasp complex legal problems and offer innovative

solutions.

Brian Sheron, Director of the Division of Engineering in the Office of Nuclear

Reactor Regulation, oversees many complex technical, safety, and policy issues

regarding nuclear reactors. His career spans 25 years in the federal government,

marked by numerous outstanding achievements. During his 20 years at the NRC, Dr.

Sheron has worked in both nuclear regulation and nuclear safety research, making

major contributions in resolving technical issues such as boiling water reactor internal

equipment cracking, steam generator tube degradation, reactor pressure integrity, and

seismic qualification. He was the principal architect for critical initiatives such as the

revised emergency core cooling system rule, and has encouraged the agency’s focus

on managing prevention of severe reactor accidents. Dr. Sheron has had 23 papers

published in industry journals and has made many presentations at nuclear industry

conferences.
Jack Strosnider, Jr., Chief of the Materials and Chemical Engineering Branch in

the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, is a 20-year veteran of the NRC, and served

two years on assignment at the Nuclear Energy Agency in Paris. Mr. Strosnider

pioneered the application of probabilistic fracture methods in the analysis of reactor

vessel integrity. His work formed the basis for the pressurized thermal shock rule which

resulted in significantly improved nuclear power plant safety. He also managed

programs evaluating aging of reactor pressure vessels, steam generator tube

degradation, and corrosion and cracking of reactor piping. His numerous

recommendations resulted in reducing the risk of steam generator tube failure. Mr.

Strosnider’s work on reactor pressure vessels also contributed to significant reductions

in U.S. electrical generation costs. Technical evaluations and regulatory positions

developed in his group have withstood significant scrutiny by licensees, congressional

staff and the public.

Each award winner received a $10,000 bonus.

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