Former Assistant Secretary of the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy Kathryn Huff has been named chair of University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Department of Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics, the university said Monday.
Huff will succeed Grainger Professor of Nuclear Engineering Paul Wilson as the department chair starting July 1, the university said in a press release.
Huff led DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy from 2022 to 2024 during the Joe Biden administration. The former DOE Office of Nuclear Energy official currently works as an associate professor of nuclear, plasma and radiological engineering at the University of Illinois.
“Kathryn Huff brings a rare combination of technical depth, national leadership experience and forward-looking vision at exactly the right moment,” Grainger Dean of the College of Engineering Devesh Ranjan said. “As one of the nation’s top nuclear engineering programs, we are exceptionally well positioned for what’s ahead, and I’m excited for the impact Katy will have as she leads the department into its next chapter of excellence and influence.”
Huff will return to University of Wisconsin-Madison after earning her PhD in nuclear engineering at the university in 2013.
Last month, Wisconsin-Madison received a $3 million grant from DOE to support university-led nuclear energy research and development projects.
The university’s nuclear engineering department will also work alongside the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin to conduct a feasibility siting study for new nuclear generation in the state. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) made that announcement during his Feb. 17 State of the State address.
The school operates a 1-megawatt Training, Research, Isotopes, General Atomics [TRIGA] research reactor in the Mechanical Engineering Building, which has been in operation since 1961.