OAK RIDGE — B&W Y-12 has named Debbie Reed to a newly created position as University of Tennessee liaison director for the Y-12 National Security Complex.
As part of Y-12’s efforts to expand existing business collaborations and identify new partnering opportunities within the university system, Reed’s position will foster deeper relations to increase the technical breadth and depth of both organizations.
“Debbie will work throughout Y-12 to develop new partnerships with UT,” said Darrel Kohlhorst, president and general manager of B&W Y-12, which operates the Y-12 site for the National Nuclear Security Administration. “Her new position formalizes our efforts to bring Tennessee’s flagship university together with the expertise at Y-12, which has been keeping the world safe for more than 65 years.”
Y-12 has seen an increase in UT engineering and business school graduates, and the site has begun hosting nuclear engineering post-graduate training. Y-12 also collaborates with the UT Baker Center for Public Policy and provides expertise to the state of Tennessee via the UT Center for Industrial Services.
“We want to strengthen our relationship with UT and look for further ways to collaborate,” Reed said. “For instance, because of Y-12’s expertise with materials and uranium, there may be opportunities to work with UT’s Center for Materials Processing.
“I will serve as a point of contact between the university and Y-12 to initiate a conversation on sharing expertise, suggesting a collaboration or proposing an initiative,” Reed said. “I’m excited to begin taking our existing strong ties with the university and advancing them.”
Reed, who has been at Y-12 for 10 years and most recently was a senior technical advisor in engineering, has an associate’s degree in fire protection and safety engineering technology from Oklahoma State University and a bachelor of science in industrial safety from the University of Idaho. She has more than 20 years of experience with private industry and numerous sites within the Department of Energy complex. Her experiences in building collaborative relationships and working with the community give her an excellent base to draw from when bringing people and capabilities together.
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B&W Y-12, a limited liability enterprise of The Babcock and Wilcox Company and Bechtel National Inc., was selected to operate the Y-12 National Security Complex for the National Nuclear Security Administration in 2000. Y-12 maintains and enhances the safety, security, effectiveness and performance of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile; reduces the global danger from weapons of mass destruction; provides the U.S. Navy with safe and effective nuclear propulsion; and provides expertise and training to respond to nuclear and radiological emergencies in the U.S. and abroad. Visit http://www.y12.doe.gov/ for more information.
### SOURCE — B&W Y-12