Margaret Chu

Margaret Chu holds a B.S. degree from Purdue University in chemistry and a PhD from the University of Minnesota in physical (quantum) chemistry. Her entire career has been devoted to promoting environmentally safe and clean energy and nuclear fuel cycle. She has the rare combination of abilities to create a vision, formulate strategies as well as implement the necessary pragmatic tactics. She has extensive experience in managing large, multidisciplinary projects, and in negotiating with customers, regulators and stakeholders. Currently she provides consulting services in nuclear waste management, nuclear fuel cycle analysis, nuclear security analysis, R&D strategy, market analysis, organizational effectiveness, and management strategy.

Margaret served as the Director of Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management at the Department of Energy (DOE) between March 2002 and February 2005. Margaret was nominated by President Bush to this Assistant Secretary level position in November of 2001 and confirmed by the Senate in March of 2002. She received the Secretary’s Gold Award, Department of Energy’s highest honorary award in January 2005. At this DOE position, Margaret had the responsibility to lead and implement the management and disposal of U.S.’s spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste into a deep geologic repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada.

Before her DOE experience, Margaret had a twenty-one-year distinguished career at Sandia National Laboratories. She led highly successful R&D programs on nuclear waste and environmental technologies. Her leadership, management skills and technical expertise were instrumental in the successful certification of the first operating deep geologic nuclear waste repository in the world, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) for the disposal of U.S. defense transuranic waste.