An ISU professor was recently appointed by President Clinton to another four-year term on the U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (NWTRB).

Dan Bullen, associate professor of mechanical engineering, was first appointed to the board in 1997.

He said the NWTRB is responsible for evaluating the activities of the U.S. Department of Energy’s radioactive waste management program.

“The board reviews the efforts of the Board of Energy to transport, store and dispose of radioactive wastes. We want to make sure they have safe disposal sites for that waste,” Bullen said. “To do this, we meet about four times every year and also work in panels.”

Bullen said he is excited about serving another term on the 11-member board.

“I’m very pleased to have been reappointed,” he said. “It is a tremendous honor and a very good time to work on the board.”

Donald Flugrad, associate professor of mechanical engineering, said Bullen’s appointment brings a lot of recognition to Iowa State’s College of Engineering.

“Dan’s position on the NWTRB is a very visible and important position, especially since it’s a position that is appointed by the president,” he said.

Flugrad said he thinks Bullen is an excellent choice to serve on the technical review board.

“I think Dan is very well known in his field, and he is definitely a good person to fill that position,” he said.

Bullen specializes in several areas of the board’s work, including researching engineered barrier systems and their decay rates.

“I’m the only nuclear engineer on the board,” Bullen said, “and I chair the repository and performance assessment boards.”

He also has worked extensively on plans for the board’s Yucca Mountain waste site project.

“The board has significant influence on the design and operation of the repository in Nevada. We’ve done a lot of design modifications in waste packages and design for the site, and it has been exciting to see the improvements,” he said.

Bullen said he received the initial nomination from Clinton from the National Academy of Sciences.

“The academy gathers names of people in the field and solicits their input,” he said. “My name was relatively well-known in the field, so they called me and asked if I was interested in serving on the board. I filled out and sent in a r‚sum‚, which was given to the president.”

Although Clinton makes the appointment decisions for the NWTRB, Bullen has never met him.

“I’ve never actually met the president, but I did get a very nice scroll for serving on the board,” he joked.