Patricia Lee, former manager of Savannah River National Laboratory, was sworn in Wednesday as the newest member of the federal Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, the agency said.
The Senate confirmed Lee July 9 in a 54-41 vote, mostly on party lines. Her term runs through Oct. 18, 2027.
Lee has over 30 years of experience in nuclear safety, 23 of which were spent at Savannah River National Laboratory in Aiken County, S.C., according to the board’s press release.
She most recently served as the portfolio manager for Savannah River’s digital enterprise, and also served at the DOE headquarters in Washington as the senior technical advisor to the assistant secretary for the Office of Environmental Management.
Lee also holds a doctoral degree in nuclear engineering and health physics and a master’s degree in health physics, both from the Georgia Institute of Technology. She has a master’s in physics from Clark Atlanta University, and a bachelor’s in physics from Lincoln University.
DNFSB provides independent safety advice and recommendations about defense-nuclear facilities, except nuclear Navy facilities, to the secretary of energy. The five-member board was down to two people: Chair Joyce Connery, whose term ends in October, and vice chair Thomas Summers.
The Biden administration in May nominated William (Ike) White, who led DOE’s Office of Environmental Management for five years, to fill another of the vacancies at DNFSB. The Senate Armed Services Committee had not scheduled a nomination hearing for White as of deadline for Weapons Complex Monitor.
If White is confirmed, DNFSB would have its quorum of three members. Without a quorum, the board’s chair can effectively run the agency alone for one year, as Connery has done since Oct. 18.
