National Academies Press: OpenBook

Memorial Tributes: Volume 20 (2016)

Chapter: JOHN J. TAYLOR

« Previous: G. RUSSELL SUTHERLAND
Suggested Citation:"JOHN J. TAYLOR." National Academy of Engineering. 2016. Memorial Tributes: Volume 20. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23394.
×

image

Suggested Citation:"JOHN J. TAYLOR." National Academy of Engineering. 2016. Memorial Tributes: Volume 20. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23394.
×

JOHN J. TAYLOR

1922–2013

Elected in 1974

“Contributions to the application of theoretical methods to nuclear shield and reactor design.”

BY WILLIAM J. PERRY

JOHN JOSEPH TAYLOR, a pioneer in nuclear energy and former vice president of Westinghouse and the Electric Power Research Institute, died on December 9, 2013, at the age of 91.

John was born in Hackensack, New Jersey, on February 27, 1922. He graduated from St. John’s College in 1942 and went on to serve as a Lieutenant (jg) in the Navy. After his naval service he did graduate work at Notre Dame, where he was awarded a master’s degree in mathematics in 1947. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from St. John’s College in 1947. On leaving college he went into the nuclear industry and never looked back, making his mark as a world leader in that field and the related field of electric power.

He started his career in nuclear power with the Kellex Corporation, but in 1952 moved to the Westinghouse Electric Corporation, where he held a series of increasingly responsible positions in nuclear power, in time becoming the vice president and general manager responsible for the corporation’s nuclear power plant business. During this period Westinghouse became one of the preeminent companies in the world in the field of nuclear power.

During his career at Westinghouse John had management positions, in turn, for the development of nuclear reactors for naval submarines, reactors for commercial electric

Suggested Citation:"JOHN J. TAYLOR." National Academy of Engineering. 2016. Memorial Tributes: Volume 20. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23394.
×

generating plants, and breeder reactors. In short, he held senior management responsibilities for some of the most critical nuclear programs in our nation during the Cold War. As John approached the mandatory retirement age for senior managers at Westinghouse, he was the general manager for all of Westinghouse’s commercial nuclear power plants, and he was not ready to retire.

So in 1981, after a remarkably distinguished career spanning 31 years, he left Westinghouse and went to the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) in Palo Alto, California, where he became the vice president of nuclear power. He served at EPRI for another 14 years, retiring in 1995 at the age of 73. When John was at Westinghouse, he focused on the technology and management of nuclear reactors; at EPRI he drew on his broad background to explore policy implications of nuclear energy. A typical product of his EPRI work was the paper “Reactor Accidents: A Global Reassessment of Consequences,” one of several dozen papers he wrote while at EPRI—in addition to the more than 30 technical papers he authored or coauthored on technical aspects of nuclear reactors while at Westinghouse.

While John’s career in the nuclear reactor field was quite broad, it is fair to say that he was especially preeminent in the field of nuclear safety and efficiency, including the safe disposal of excess plutonium. Indeed, he was probably the leading American in this field and was internationally known for his seminal analysis of the Three Mile Island nuclear accident. His outstanding work in the nuclear safety field led him to be nominated for the prestigious Enrico Fermi award, as well as the Smythe award.

During his long and distinguished career, he was honored with many awards, including the Walter H. Zinn Award (American Nuclear Society), the George Westinghouse Gold Medal (American Society of Mechanical Engineers), and the Order of Merit (Westinghouse Electric Corporation). He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering, a fellow of the American Nuclear Society and American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a member of the American Physical Society. He served on many committees of the NAE

Suggested Citation:"JOHN J. TAYLOR." National Academy of Engineering. 2016. Memorial Tributes: Volume 20. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23394.
×

and the National Research Council, and was chair of the Electric Power/Energy Systems Engineering Section. He served as an unpaid consultant to the International Atomic Energy Agency and to several US government agencies, including the Department of Energy, and often testified to the Congress.

John’s modesty belied a lifetime of remarkable achievement serving his country. His career of achievement in more than 50 years in nuclear design, nuclear safety, and nuclear policy is unique in the world. But beyond the overachiever was a warm and generous human being. He was a caring friend to many of us, but was most at home with his family, to whom he was entirely devoted. Lorraine, his beloved wife of 67 years, died several years before John.

He is survived by a son and daughter-in-law, John B. and Allyn Taylor, a daughter and son-in-law, Nancy T. and Paul Gray, a daughter and son-in-law, Susan and Paul DeMuro, as well as six grandchildren, one grandson-in-law, and two great-grandchildren. They will all miss him, as will his many friends; indeed, we will never see his like again.

Suggested Citation:"JOHN J. TAYLOR." National Academy of Engineering. 2016. Memorial Tributes: Volume 20. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23394.
×
Page 326
Suggested Citation:"JOHN J. TAYLOR." National Academy of Engineering. 2016. Memorial Tributes: Volume 20. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23394.
×
Page 327
Suggested Citation:"JOHN J. TAYLOR." National Academy of Engineering. 2016. Memorial Tributes: Volume 20. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23394.
×
Page 328
Suggested Citation:"JOHN J. TAYLOR." National Academy of Engineering. 2016. Memorial Tributes: Volume 20. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23394.
×
Page 329
Next: GARETH THOMAS »
Memorial Tributes: Volume 20 Get This Book
×
Buy Hardback | $75.00 Buy Ebook | $59.99
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF

This is the 20th Volume in the series Memorial Tributes compiled by the National Academy of Engineering as a personal remembrance of the lives and outstanding achievements of its members and foreign associates. These volumes are intended to stand as an enduring record of the many contributions of engineers and engineering to the benefit of humankind. In most cases, the authors of the tributes are contemporaries or colleagues who had personal knowledge of the interests and the engineering accomplishments of the deceased. Through its members and foreign associates, the Academy carries out the responsibilities for which it was established in 1964.

Under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering was formed as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. Members are elected on the basis of significant contributions to engineering theory and practice and to the literature of engineering or on the basis of demonstrated unusual accomplishments in the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology. The National Academies share a responsibility to advise the federal government on matters of science and technology. The expertise and credibility that the National Academy of Engineering brings to that task stem directly from the abilities, interests, and achievements of our members and foreign associates, our colleagues and friends, whose special gifts we remember in this book.

  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    Switch between the Original Pages, where you can read the report as it appeared in print, and Text Pages for the web version, where you can highlight and search the text.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  9. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!