Dear Colleagues:
 
It is with sincere gratitude that we announce that after 46 years of service to the government and national laboratory system, Assistant Secretary Pete Lyons will retire at the end of June.  Pete has been a tremendous public servant throughout his stellar career, and all who have had the privilege of working with and getting to know him through these decades understand that he has been not only a dedicated and accomplished scientist and leader of the highest order, but also one of the most decent and kind individuals one will meet in government service.  We will miss him.
 
Dr. Lyons first joined the Department as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Office of Nuclear Energy in November 2009 and was later confirmed as the Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy on April 14, 2011.  Under Dr. Lyons’ leadership, the Office has made great strides in incorporating modeling and simulation into all programs through the Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation program and the Nuclear Energy Innovation Hub.  He focused on management of used fuel by contributing to the development of the Administration’s Strategy for the Management and Disposal of Used Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste.  In addition, the Office of Nuclear Energy established the Small Modular Reactor Licensing Technical Support program for a new generation of safe, reliable, low-carbon nuclear energy technology.  Pete also championed the Nuclear Energy University Program, which has successfully supported U.S. universities in preparing the next generation of nuclear energy leaders.
 
Prior to joining DOE, Dr. Lyons served as a Commissioner of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission from January 25, 2005 until his term ended on June 30, 2009.  At the NRC, Dr. Lyons focused on the safety of operating reactors and emphasized active and forward-looking research programs to support sound regulatory decisions, address current issues and anticipate future ones.  Before becoming a Commissioner, Dr. Lyons served as Science Advisor on the staff of U.S. Senator Pete Domenici and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources where he focused on military and civilian uses of nuclear technology from 1997 to 2005.  From 1969 to 1996, Dr. Lyons worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory where he served as Director for Industrial Partnerships, Deputy Associate Director for Energy and Environment, and Deputy Associate Director-Defense Research and Applications.  While at Los Alamos, he spent over a decade supporting nuclear test diagnostics.
 
Dr. Lyons has published more than 100 technical papers, holds three patents related to fiber optics and plasma diagnostics, and served as chairman of the NATO Nuclear Effects Task Group for five years.  He received his doctorate in nuclear astrophysics from the California Institute of Technology in 1969 and earned his undergraduate degree in physics and mathematics from the University of Arizona in 1964.  Dr. Lyons is a Fellow of the American Nuclear Society, a Fellow of the American Physical Society, and was elected to 16 years on the Los Alamos School Board.
 
John Kotek, who joined the Office of Nuclear Energy as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in January of this year, will become the Acting Assistant Secretary upon Pete’s Departure.  John has more than 25 years of experience in the nuclear energy field and has a long history of working in the Department on nuclear issues.  John has served in many DOE positions, including Deputy Manager of the Idaho Site Office and also served as the Staff Director to the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future.
 
Please join us in congratulating Pete on a very successful career and offering best wishes for a well-deserved retirement!  Many thanks for your lifetime commitment to the field of nuclear science.
 
Sincerely,
 
Secretary Moniz and Deputy Secretary Sherwood-Randall