Allison M. Macfarlane directs the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs at the
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...
. She is the former director of the Institute for International Science and Technology Policy at
George Washington University
, mottoeng = "God is Our Trust"
, established =
, type = Private federally chartered research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $2.8 billion (2022)
, preside ...
, where she was Professor of Science Policy and International Affairs. She was the chairman of the United States
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with protecting public health and safety related to nuclear energy. Established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, the NRC began operat ...
(NRC) from July 9, 2012, to December 31, 2014.
Education and career
Macfarlane was educated at the University of Rochester, where she earned B.Sc. in Geological Sciences in 1987, and at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she earned a Ph.D. in Geology in 1992. She held fellowships at Radcliffe College, Harvard University, Stanford University, and MIT. She was also assistant professor of earth science and international affairs at Georgia Tech from 2003-4.
[ Prior to taking the top position at the NRC, Dr. Macfarlane was an associate professor of environmental science and policy at ]George Mason University
George Mason University (George Mason, Mason, or GMU) is a public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia with an independent City of Fairfax, Virginia postal address in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. The university was origin ...
.
While at GMU, Macfarlane was a member of the Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future
A Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future was appointed by President Obama to look into future options for existing and future nuclear waste, following the ending of work on the incomplete Yucca Mountain Repository. At present, there ...
from 2010 to 2012.[ The panel was charged by the ]Secretary of Energy
The United States secretary of energy is the head of the United States Department of Energy, a member of the Cabinet of the United States, and fifteenth in the presidential line of succession. The position was created on October 1, 1977, when Pr ...
to examine the issues associated with nuclear waste disposal
Radioactive waste is a type of hazardous waste that contains radioactive material. Radioactive waste is a result of many activities, including nuclear medicine, nuclear research, nuclear power generation, rare-earth mining, and nuclear weapons r ...
in the United States.
When NRC commission chair Gregory Jaczko
Gregory B. Jaczko (; born October 29, 1970, Norristown, Pennsylvania) is a physicist who was chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) from 2005 to 2012. was forced to step down before the end of his term[ in May 2012, Macfarlane was appointed to complete the term.][ She was then reconfirmed for a full five-year term by the ]United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
on July 1, 2013.
As Chairman of the NRC, Macfarlane prioritized the geological and operational lessons learned from the North Anna and Fukushima
may refer to:
Japan
* Fukushima Prefecture, Japanese prefecture
** Fukushima, Fukushima, capital city of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan
***Fukushima University, national university in Japan
*** Fukushima Station (Fukushima) in Fukushima, Fukushim ...
incidents, as well as improving the NRC's communication with public stakeholders and paying more attention to the back end of the fuel cycle in an era when more U.S. nuclear power plants were being decommissioned than built. She also pushed to make the NRC a more family-friendly workplace. Given that she had raised questions a decade earlier about the suitability of the Yucca Mountain
Yucca Mountain is a mountain in Nevada, near its border with California, approximately northwest of Las Vegas. Located in the Great Basin, Yucca Mountain is east of the Amargosa Desert, south of the Nevada Test and Training Range and in the Ne ...
site for long-term geologic disposal of high-level nuclear waste, supporters of Yucca Mountain expected her to stall NRC licensing of Yucca Mountain, but she complied with a court order that ruled her predecessor's actions illegal and directed the NRC to continue its licensing review until it had spent down the funds made available for this purpose by Congress.
After leaving the NRC, Macfarlane became the Director of the Institute for International Science and Technology Policy and a Professor of science policy and international affairs at Elliott School of International Affairs
The Elliott School of International Affairs (known as the Elliott School or ESIA) is the professional school of international relations, foreign policy, and international development of the George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. It i ...
at the George Washington University
, mottoeng = "God is Our Trust"
, established =
, type = Private federally chartered research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $2.8 billion (2022)
, preside ...
[Dixon, Darius]
"NRC's Macfarlane to depart"
''Politico
''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...
'', October 21, 2014. Retrieved 2017-01-10. in December 2014. She has written at least ten articles for the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
The ''Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists'' is a nonprofit organization concerning science and global security issues resulting from accelerating technological advances that have negative consequences for humanity. The ''Bulletin'' publishes conte ...
.
Views
In her 2006 book, ''Uncertainty Underground,'' Macfarlane criticized plans to store spent nuclear fuel in a mountain near Las Vegas called Yucca Mountain
Yucca Mountain is a mountain in Nevada, near its border with California, approximately northwest of Las Vegas. Located in the Great Basin, Yucca Mountain is east of the Amargosa Desert, south of the Nevada Test and Training Range and in the Ne ...
. She said the seismic and volcanic activity as well as oxidizing in the environment would make the nuclear waste unstable. Macfarlane has supported storing nuclear waste at reactor sites in dry casks and the allocation of billions to find a suitable geologic repository for storage over the next few decades.
Works
"Déjà vu for U.S. nuclear waste"
''Science''. 30 June 2017
Uncertainty Underground: Yucca Mountain and the Nation's High Level Nuclear Waste
'' MIT Press, 2006.
Personal life
Macfarlane is married to Hugh Gusterson
Hugh Gusterson is an anthropologist at the University of British Columbia and George Washington University. His work focuses on nuclear culture, international security and the anthropology of science. His articles have appeared in the LA Time ...
, a professor of anthropology and author of works on nuclear culture, with whom she has two children.
References
External links
*
Nuclear agency’s new chief, Allison Macfarlane, on science and ‘Downton Abbey’
NRC Chief says agency prioritized lessons from Japan disaster
What's next for the NRC: A conversation with Allison Macfarlane
Welcome Remarks International Regulators Conference on Nuclear Security, December 4, 2012.
Speech to Institute for Nuclear Power Operations (INPO), Atlanta, November 6, 2012.
Platts Energy Week TV interview November 25, 2012
Press Conference at National Press Club August 14, 2012
Keynote address Carnegie International Nuclear Policy Conference April 8, 2013
Remarks at Fuel Cycle Exchange conference, Rockville, MD, June 11, 2013
Remarks at State Liaison Officers Conference, Rockville MD, November 5, 2013
Remarks at American Nuclear Society meeting, November 11, 2013
Regulatory Information Conference keynote address, March 11, 2014 video
Regulatory Information Conference keynote address official text, March 11, 2014
Regulatory Information Conference keynote address slides, March 11. 2014
On leadership and nuclear power
''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' interview August 6, 2013.
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' profile November 17, 2014.
''The Washington Post'' profile October 21, 2014.
* Galison, Peter & Robb Moss
"Containment" (documentary)
Independent Lens
''Independent Lens'' is a weekly television series airing on PBS featuring documentary films made by independent filmmakers. Past seasons of ''Independent Lens'' were hosted by Angela Bassett, Don Cheadle, Susan Sarandon, Edie Falco, Terrence Ho ...
, premiered January 9, 2017 on U.S. PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
. Interviewed as part of review of nuclear power and waste disposal.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macfarlane, Allison
Living people
George Washington University faculty
George Mason University faculty
Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials
People associated with nuclear power
University of Rochester alumni
Year of birth missing (living people)
Obama administration personnel