Dr. John Sackett

Dr. Sackett, a former Associate Director of Argonne National Laboratory, had a distinguished career in sodium-cooled fast-reactor technology over his 35 years at the laboratory. He was Director of the EBR-II Division, managing a sodium-cooled test reactor that operated for 30 years. He was also Manager of the ANL-W site in Idaho, responsible for the safe operation of the 18 nuclear facilities located there, before being named Associate Laboratory Director where he had responsibility for nuclear technology development in both Idaho and Illinois.

Dr. Sackett is currently a senior advisor at the Idaho National Laboratory, with a focus on nuclear technology programs.

He is known as an originator of passively-safe approaches to reactor design, a concept demonstrated in landmark tests at EBR-II in 1986. For his work, he received considerable recognition, including the Walker Cissler Award, an international award for achievements in fast reactor design and an ANS special award recognizing his contributions. He is a Fellow of the American Nuclear Society. Among his other awards is the University of Chicago Award for distinguished service at the Laboratory and he rose to the level of Senior Engineer, the highest ranking technical classification before retiring in 2005. He is widely published and has received many other awards for his work.

Dr. Sackett received his BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Idaho, where he was selected as the outstanding graduating engineer, and his PhD in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Arizona.