Dr. John F. Ahearne

Dr. John F. Ahearne is a nuclear physicist with experience in the fields of nuclear power, nuclear materials, radioactive waste, and nuclear weapons. He is presently the Vice-Chairman of NEAC. Ahearne directed the ethics program at Sigma Xi from 1998 – 2008 after serving as the Executive Director from 1989-1997. He has recently been named the Executive Director Emeritus of Sigma Xi. He lectures on science and technology policy and is an adjunct professor of civil and environmental engineering at Duke University. He received a B.S. and M.S. from Cornell and later earned a M.A. and Ph.D. from Princeton University. Ahearne is a former Chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, past president of the Society for Risk Analysis, and former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Energy and Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense. Ahearne was also past Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Nuclear Facility Safety from 1988-1991. He spent eleven years in the U.S. Air Force. He has served on and chaired many committees of the National Research Council and National Academy of Sciences. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Society for Risk Analysis. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering.