NRC COMMISSIONER PETER B. LYONS HONORED BY 

AMERICAN NUCLEAR SOCIETY FOR OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTIONS 

 

NRC Commissioner Peter B. Lyons is being honored today with 

the American Nuclear Society (ANS) Fellow Award, the society’s 

highest membership grade award to nuclear professionals who have 

significant accomplishments in the fields of nuclear science and 

engineering. 

 Commissioner Lyons is being honored by the ANS for his 

exceptional and diverse contributions to the advancement of nuclear 

science in the United States and around the world, including his 

instrumental role in helping to develop the Energy Policy Act of 2005, 

and leadership at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in developing a 

stalwart research program that supports sound regulatory decisions. He is also being recognized 

for his contributions to initiatives for maintaining a competent and dedicated workforce and for 

essential contributions toward furthering international collaboration. 

"I would like to congratulate Commissioner Lyons on this prestigious award. During our 

four and a half years together on the Commission, I have enjoyed our friendship, and the 

Commission has benefitted from his insights and expertise on a wide variety of safety issues," 

said NRC Chairman Gregory B. Jaczko. 

 During his tenure at the NRC, Dr. Lyons focused on the safety of operating reactors and 

on the importance of the NRC and the nuclear industry learning from operating experience, even 

as new reactor licensing and possible construction emerge. He has emphasized that the agency 

and its licensees must remain strong and vigilant components of the nation’s integrated defenses 

against terrorism, and he has been a consistent voice for improving NRC partnerships with the 

states. 

An extensive research background underscores his advocacy for an active and forwardlooking NRC research program to support sound regulatory decisions, address current nuclear 

safety issues, and anticipate future issues. In addition, because the agency’s success depends 

NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 

Washington, D.C. 20555-0001 

E-mail: opa.resource@nrc.gov

Site: http://www.nrc.gov

No. 09-111 June 16, 2009
directly on maintaining a competent and dedicated workforce, Dr. Lyons has been a proponent of 

science and technology education, recruitment for diversity, employee training and development 

programs, and an open and collaborative working environment. 

 

Prior to his service at the NRC, Dr. Lyons served as science advisor on the staff of U.S. 

Senator Pete Domenici and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources where he 

focused on military and civilian uses of nuclear technology, national science policy, and nuclear 

non-proliferation. He developed key provisions in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 that helped to 

bolster the nuclear energy renaissance in the United States. From 1969 to 1996, Dr. Lyons 

worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory serving as director for industrial partnerships, 

deputy associate director for energy and environment, and deputy associate director-defense 

research and applications. 

 Dr. Lyons joins an elite group in receiving the prestigious designation of ANS Fellow, 

which acknowledges the extraordinary leadership of nuclear professionals in different disciplines 

relating to research, invention, engineering, safety, technical leadership and teaching. 

 The ANS will present Dr. Lyons with the award at the ANS awards luncheon in Atlanta, 

Ga., and he will join the group of fellows listed on the ANS Web page at 

http://www.ans.org/honors/fellows/. 

### 

News releases are available through a free listserv subscription at the following Web address: 

http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/listserver.html. The NRC homepage at www.nrc.gov also offers a SUBSCRIBE 

link. E-mail notifications are sent to subscribers when news releases are posted to NRC's Web site.