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Interim Design Assessment for the Blue Grass Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plant (2005)

Chapter: Appendix D Biographical Sketches of Committee Members

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Suggested Citation:"Appendix D Biographical Sketches of Committee Members." National Research Council. 2005. Interim Design Assessment for the Blue Grass Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plant. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11473.
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Appendix D
Biographical Sketches of Committee Members

Robert A. Beaudet, Chair, received his Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Harvard University in 1962. From 1961 to 1962, he was a U.S. Army Chemical Corps officer and served at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory as a research scientist. He joined the faculty of the University of Southern California in 1962 as an assistant professor and was chair of the Chemistry Department from 1974 to 1979. Dr. Beaudet has served on Department of Defense committees that have addressed both offensive and defensive considerations surrounding chemical warfare agents. He was chair of an Army Science Board committee that addressed chemical detection and trace gas analysis. He also was chair of an Air Force technical conference on chemical warfare decontamination and protection. He has participated in several National Research Council (NRC) studies on chemical and biological sensor technologies and energetic materials and technologies. Most of his career has been devoted to research in molecular structure and molecular spectroscopy. Dr. Beaudet is the author or coauthor of more than 100 technical reports and papers in these areas.


Charles Barton received his Ph.D. in toxicology from the University of Louisiana. Dr. Barton is currently the Iowa state toxicologist and director of the Center for Environmental and Regulatory Toxicology at the Iowa Department of Public Health. In addition to being a certified toxicologist, he is certified in conducting public health assessments, health education activities, and risk assessments; in emergency response to terrorism and emergency response incident command; and in hazardous waste operations and emergency response. In his position as the state toxicologist, Dr. Barton serves as the statewide public health resource, providing health consultations and advice to other environment- and health-related agencies, as well as to health care providers and to business and industry representatives. He currently directs, or has directed, a host of Iowa Department of Public Health programs, including programs for PCBs, radon, water treatment system registration, hazardous substances emergency surveillance, the hazardous waste site health assessment, risk assessment for the Superfund program, the Iowa toxicology program, and many others.


Joan B. Berkowitz, who graduated from the University of Illinois with a Ph.D. in physical chemistry, is currently managing director of Farkas Berkowitz and Company. Dr. Berkowitz has extensive experience in the area of environmental and hazardous waste management, a knowledge of technologies available for the cleanup of contaminated soils and groundwater, and a background in physical and electrochemistry. She has contributed to several studies by the Environmental Protection Agency, been a consultant on remediation techniques, and assessed various destruction technologies. Dr. Berkowitz has written extensively on hazardous waste treatment and environmental subjects.


Ruth M. Doherty received a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from the University of Maryland. Dr. Doherty is currently the deputy director at the Indian Head Site for the Naval Energetics Enterprise, a collaboration between the Naval Air Systems Command and the Naval

Suggested Citation:"Appendix D Biographical Sketches of Committee Members." National Research Council. 2005. Interim Design Assessment for the Blue Grass Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plant. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11473.
×

Sea Systems Command to provide stewardship of the Navy’s ordnance core equities. She has worked extensively on the research and development of energetics materials, mainly explosives, for over 20 years, beginning at the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) White Oak Detachment and later at the Indian Head Division of NSWC. Her main contributions in this area have been in the development of advanced underwater explosives and the characterization of new energetic materials. From 2001 to 2003, she was detailed to the Weapons Systems Division of the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Science and Technology to lead the development of a national program in science and technology for advanced energetic materials. In 2004, she was awarded the Naval Meritorious Civilian Service award for her contributions to the Navy. She is the U.S. principal member of Subgroup 1 (energetic materials) of the NATO Conference of National Armaments Directors Ammunition Safety Group and is a member of the editorial advisory board of the journal Propellants, Explosives, and Pyrotechnics.


Lawrence E. Eiselstein received Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in materials science from Stanford University and a B.S. in metallurgical engineering from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Dr. Eiselstein currently manages the materials group in the Menlo Park, California, office of Exponent Failure Analysis Associates. He specializes in both the mechanical behavior of materials and corrosion science and testing. His research includes design analysis and testing for approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of implantable devices, support for 510k and premarket approval applications submissions to the FDA, failure modes and effect analysis for medical devices, failure analysis of implantable medical devices, fatigue in materials, hydrostatic extrusion wire design, design and fabrication of metal laminates for reactive armor and lightweight armor, and ballistics testing. Dr. Eiselstein has extensive experience dealing with solder joints, welds, and brazing; deformation and fracture of materials; the relationship between microstructure and properties; fractography; and failure analysis. He also has expertise in all aspects of corrosion, including corrosion fatigue, environmentally assisted cracking, hydrogen embrittlement, and corrosion of bridges, steam turbines, condensers, reactor vessels, pressure vessels, pipes and tubing, wire, tanks, chemical and power plant components, steam generators, oil and gas pipelines, and plumbing and piping.


Harold K. Forsen, a member of the National Academy of Engineering, received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in electrical engineering from the California Institute of Technology and his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley. Dr. Forsen is a retired senior vice president with Bechtel Corporation and a former foreign secretary of the National Academy of Engineering. His expertise and research interests cover a wide spectrum of engineering fields, including engineering and construction, energy, composites, electro-optical devices, power supplies and distribution, national energy policy, technology policy, nuclear and solar power, metals and alloys, industrial engineering, systems engineering, acoustics, applied nuclear physics, construction materials, and technical management. Dr. Forsen is specifically noted for outstanding technical and leadership contributions in the areas of fission, fusion, and energy technology in industry and academia.


Willard C. Gekler graduated from the Colorado School of Mines with a B.S. in petroleum refining engineering and pursued graduate study in nuclear engineering at the University of California at Los Angeles. Mr. Gekler is currently an independent consultant working for his previous employer, ABS Consulting, Inc. His extensive experience includes membership on the NRC ACW I and II committees and on the expert panel reviewing the quantitative risk assessments and safety analyses of hazardous materials handling, storage, and waste treatment systems for the Anniston, Umatilla, Pine Bluff, Aberdeen, and Newport chemical disposal facilities. He also served as project manager for the development of facility design criteria for the Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System. His expertise is in hazard evaluation, quantitative risk analysis, reliability assessment, and database development for risk and reliability. Mr. Gekler is a certified reliability engineer and a member of the Society for Risk Analysis, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and the American Nuclear Society. He is the author or coauthor of numerous publications.


Clair F. Gill received a B.S. in engineering from the U.S. Military Academy and an M.S. in geotechnical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley. He currently serves as the chief of staff and resources/planning director for the Office of Facilities Engineering and Operations at the Smithsonian Institution. In this capacity, he oversees all facilities mainte-

Suggested Citation:"Appendix D Biographical Sketches of Committee Members." National Research Council. 2005. Interim Design Assessment for the Blue Grass Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plant. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11473.
×

nance, operations, security, and capital construction and revitalization for the Smithsonian’s museums and research facilities in Washington, D.C., and at several locations in the United States and abroad. Retired from the U.S. Army in 1999, General Gill has served as the Army’s budget director. Throughout his military career, he was involved directly in various major construction projects, including military school facilities, a hotel complex, two flood control systems, and the reconstruction of a medical center. He was also involved in the operational concept for facilities worth nearly a quarter of a billion dollars to enable the Army to consolidate three branch schools at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and worked on the environmental impact statement and the design and start of construction for that project.


Chandra M. Roy is a managing engineer at Exponent Failure Analysis Associates’ mechanics and materials practice in Irvine, California. Dr. Roy specializes in the application of qualitative and quantitative risk assessment methodologies to engineered and business systems and processes. He also conducts consequence analysis for the release of hazardous chemicals. He has conducted source-term analysis, dispersion analysis, and fire and explosion analysis for accidental releases of airborne chemicals. Additionally, he is skilled in the analysis of failure and incident data for use in risk modeling. Dr. Roy has experience in the application of computational fluid dynamics methods to solve engineering problems. He is also familiar with a wide range of chemical processes and has experience in the operational management of the chemical process industry. He has authored or coauthored several technical publications and presented a number of papers and short courses. Dr. Roy received a Ph.D. in chemical engineering and an M.S. in nuclear engineering from the University of California at Santa Barbara; an M.S. in chemical engineering from Pennsylvania State University; and a B.E. in chemical engineering from the University of Roorkee, India.


Kenneth A. Smith, a member of the National Academy of Engineering, received Sc.D., S.B. and S.M. degrees in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), as well as a postdoctoral fellowship at the Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge. He is currently Edwin R. Gilliland Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT. In his election to the National Academy of Engineering, Dr. Smith was noted for diverse, creative, and fundamental research in fluid mechanics and rheology and heat and mass transfer and for professional and educational leadership. Dr. Smith’s research interests are in the application of the principles of fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, heat transfer, and mass transfer to important engineering problems. Specific applications have included desalination, hemodialysis, atherogenesis, liquefied natural gas, aerosols in the atmosphere, and supercritical water oxidation.


Michael K. Stenstrom is a professor in the civil and environmental engineering department at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). He has a Ph.D. in environmental systems engineering from Clemson University and is a registered professional engineer in California. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in water and wastewater treatment, mathematical modeling of environmental systems, and laboratory analysis. Prior to joining UCLA, Dr. Stenstrom was with Amoco Oil Company, where he performed research to improve petroleum refinery wastewater treatment facilities for five Amoco refineries. He is very familiar with the design and operation of municipal treatment systems and industrial treatment and pretreatment systems. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Harrison Prescott Eddy Prize for innovative research.


Thomas Webler received his Ph.D. in environment, technology, and society from Clark University, an M.S. in biomedical engineering from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. He is currently on the faculty of the Department of Environmental Studies at Antioch New England Graduate School. Dr. Webler has taught courses in the political economy of environmental issues; the social dimensions of environmental management; and integrating science and politics in environmental decision making, survey design, and environmental and social impact assessment. He has been the principal investigator or coprincipal investigator on several funded research projects dealing directly with public involvement in various issues. Related publications are Three Evaluative Tools to Empower Local Communities in the Environmental Cleanup of Sediment Contaminated Sites: A Comparative Analysis; Toward Better Theory of Public Participation; and Community Response to Risk Communication About Low Dose Radiation Exposures.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix D Biographical Sketches of Committee Members." National Research Council. 2005. Interim Design Assessment for the Blue Grass Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plant. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11473.
×
Page 74
Suggested Citation:"Appendix D Biographical Sketches of Committee Members." National Research Council. 2005. Interim Design Assessment for the Blue Grass Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plant. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11473.
×
Page 75
Suggested Citation:"Appendix D Biographical Sketches of Committee Members." National Research Council. 2005. Interim Design Assessment for the Blue Grass Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plant. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11473.
×
Page 76
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Because of concerns about incineration, the Department of Defense plans to use alternative means to destroy the chemical agent stockpiles at the Pueblo and Blue Grass facilities. The DOD contracted with Bechtel Parsons to design and operate pilot plants for this purpose. As part of the NRC efforts to assist the DOD with its chemical demilitarization efforts, the Department requested a review and assessment of the Bechtel designs for both plants. An earlier report presented an assessment of the Pueblo design. This report provides a review of the Blue Grass Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plant based on review of data and information about the initial design and some intermediate design data. Among other topics, the report presents technical risk assessment issues, an analysis of delivery and disassembly operations and of agent destruction core processes, and an examination of waste treatment.

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