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GCN Home > 08/28/06 issue

Ed Baker | New growth for nuclear power

Interview with Ed Baker, director of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Information Services Office

By Wilson P. Dizard III, GCN Staff

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has been out of the spotlight for a while, as the industry and the 103 nuclear power plants it oversees have remained static. But with some 27 new plants now in the planning stages, NRC is gearing up for expansion of its systems resources and IT staff.

The industry had languished in the wake of cost overruns, the largest municipal-bond default in history (at the Washington Public Power Supply System) and the near-catastrophe at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania. But concern over greenhouse gases has revived the prospects of nuclear power.

GCN met with Information Services Office director Ed Baker, who oversees the agency’s central IT operations, planning and policies at NRC’s Bethesda, Md., headquarters.

GCN: What experiences led you to your position overseeing the agency’s IT? Did you come in from industry?

Baker: I have been with the NRC now 26 years. I started out as an engineer—mechanical engineering is my background. I have been an inspector in the area where we did inspections of vendor facilities—everything from people who make nuts and bolts to people who make reactor pressure vessels. It was a four-year stint in my career, and it was not on site.

My next step was as a licensing project manager for River Bend [nuclear station in Francisville, La., now owned by Entergy Corp.] for two years. I spent seven years running our allegation program, where we take concerns from the public and the industry and get those resolved. That’s where I picked up system development. We built a new system for tracking that, and also records management. I did a short stint of two years in international programs and then went from there to here.

GCN: How will NRC adjust its systems operations to maintain connectivity while its staff is located in several buildings, as part of the agency’s expansion? Baker: Basically, we are expanding our seat management. All of our IT is contracted out in terms of desktops. ...

GCN: Who is the contractor? Baker: LMIT. [Lockheed Martin Information Technologies of Bethesda, Md.] We are growing, as you know. We have hired 400 people this year, as an agency. We will probably lose 150 or so to retirement, so it’s a net gain. It’s a significant growth for the agency.

More news on related topics: Management, IT Management



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