ALLISON M. MACFARLANE BECOMES 15th NRC CHAIRMAN

Dr. Allison M. Macfarlane, designated by President Obama as chairman of the Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission, was sworn in today as the 15th person chosen to lead the agency 

charged with regulating the civilian use of nuclear materials.

She will serve a term ending June 30, 2013.

“This is a singular honor. I am grateful to the President for nominating me and to the 

Senate for confirming my selection,” said Macfarlane after a small private ceremony attended by 

the agency’s other commissioners and several senior NRC staff.

“The agency faces multiple challenges. I look forward to working collegially with my 

fellow commissioners and the excellent, dedicated staff at the NRC to address these issues,” 

added Macfarlane, an expert in nuclear waste issues.

Macfarlane, 48, holds a doctorate in geology from the Massachusetts Institute of 

Technology. Most recently she was an associate professor of environmental science and policy at 

George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. She has held fellowships at Radcliffe College, MIT, 

and Stanford and Harvard Universities. From 1998-2000 she was a Social Science Research 

Fellow-MacArthur Foundation Fellow in International Peace and Security. She has served on 

National Academy of Sciences panels on nuclear energy and nuclear weapons issues.

From 2010 to 2012 she served on the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear 

Future, created by the Obama Administration to make recommendations about a national 

strategy for dealing with the nation’s high level nuclear waste. Her research has focused on 

environmental policy and international security issues associated with nuclear energy, especially 

the back-end of the nuclear fuel cycle. In 2006 MIT Press published a book she co-edited, 

Uncertainty Underground: Yucca Mountain and the Nation’s High-Level Nuclear Waste, which 

explored technical issues at the proposed waste disposal facility at Yucca Mountain, Nev.

Macfarlane is the third woman to serve as chair of the commission, the 33rd member to 

serve on the panel, and the only individual with a background in geology to serve on the 

commission.

NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

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No. 12-081 July 9, 2012
Formed in 1975 when the Atomic Energy Commission was dissolved and its 

responsibilities divided between the independent NRC for nuclear regulation and the Energy 

Department for energy research and promotion, the agency is widely regarded as a world leader

in nuclear regulation and one of the top places to work in the federal government. The NRC has 

about 4,000 employees in Rockville, Md., and four regional offices.

Macfarlane and her husband, a George Mason University professor of cultural studies 

and anthropology, live in Bethesda, Md. They have two children.

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