John Eschenberg, the federal project director at the Uranium Processing Facility for the past three years, informed friends and colleagues this week that he is leaving his leadership post at the end of the month and will “focus on new career opportunities in the private sector.” Eschenberg is retiring from federal service after working in multiple programs at the Department of Energy, ranging from EM to Science to NNSA, and he said he intends to spend more of his time in the future on non-profit activities. In a message to friends and work colleagues, Eschenberg said Dale Christenson, the deputy federal project director for UPF, will assume the top federal role on an interim basis, and Eschenberg noted that Christenson also should be a strong candidate for the project directorship on a permanent basis.
The UPF has been up and down during Eschenberg’s tenure, including a design misstep that cost the government about half a billion dollars and forced a redesign and ultimately an scaled-down version of the multibillion-dollar project at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant. Eschenberg emphasized that much progress had been made at UPF to stabilize the project. “We are steadfast in our direction to initiate early site preparatory activities to enable out-year construction of a three building complex with a strategy to tailor safety and security requirements,” he said in the message. “Although many challenges remain, our approach, our team, and our leadership are completely aligned for success.”