At the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors meeting Monday, Director General Rafael Grossi briefed the board on the situations in Ukraine and Iran.
Grossi visited Ukraine in February, and said there was “no room for complacency” in his opening statement. He also said that he had visited Iran since the last Board session, and had “important and constructive meetings there” but “doubts continue.”
Kevin Dressman, a longtime federal manager who heads the Department of Energy’s Office of Health and Safety, said this week he has accepted a deferred resignation buyout and will leave government after more than 30 years.
Dressman announced his departure Tuesday on his LinkedIn profile page. “After 33 years of federal service, I have elected to opt into the Deferred Resignation Program and retire by the end of 2025,” Dressman said in the social media post.
“Serving in the federal government has been an incredible journey—one filled with meaningful work, dedicated colleagues, and invaluable experiences that I will always cherish,” Dressman said. “It has been an honor to work alongside exceptionally talented teams who serve the public and execute vital missions with unwavering commitment and professionalism.”
Dae Chung, a long-serving Department of Energy executive, has been tapped by the Donald Trump administration to serve as the acting head of DOE’s multi-billion-dollar nuclear cleanup branch.
A status change in Chung’s LinkedIn profile Tuesday now lists him as acting principal deputy assistant secretary in the Office of Environmental Management. Chung takes over the top job on an acting basis from Candice Robertson, who a source said left Environmental Management (EM) on Thursday.
Until recent days, Chung was associate principal deputy assistant secretary for corporate services. In that role, Chung oversaw resource management, acquisition and project management, according to his DOE bio. Chung has over four decades of broad experience in U.S. government programs and operations.
The Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site could see completion of its Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative this June at the nearby University of South Carolina-Aiken, a spokesperson said recently.
Construction of the Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative was 85% completed. In November 2024. Contractor North Wind Group started building it in March 2023 and will wrap up this summer at a cost of about $66 million, said SRS spokesperson Monte Volk.
That price tag is about $11 million more than the original $55 million cost projection. “Once the certificate of occupancy is issued, and the U.S. Department of Energy inspects and accepts the building, Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) can begin to move all laboratory equipment and office furniture not associated with the build into the facility,” Volk said.
The National Nuclear Security Administration’s Nuclear Emergency Support Team visited a Las Vegas middle school with the new AW-139 helicopter.
According to local Las Vegas network KTNV, the team that landed the helicopter last week on school property met with students from Justice Myron E. Leavitt Middle School, a designated governor’s STEM school in the state, to speak with them about the work done at NEST and NNSA.
