Last updated on: 6/7/2012 | Author: ProCon.org

Nolan E. Hertel, PhD Biography

Title:
Professor of Nuclear and Radiological Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology
Position:
Con to the question "Can Alternative Energy Effectively Replace Fossil Fuels?"
Reasoning:

“[R]enewable energy sources are essentially a cottage industry. They can help provide some of the clean energy that’s needed, but their role is severely limited by the vast amounts of land that they require for large-scale deployment, and their lack of reliability.

Solar and wind account for only 2 percent of the nation’s electricity. Their roles should increase — but as they grow, we will have to build conventional power plants to back them up.”

“Hitch Our Future to Nuclear Power,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Nov. 19, 2004
Theoretical Expertise Ranking:
    Experts
Individuals with PhDs, or equivalent advanced degrees in fields relevant to alternative energy or fossil fuel issues. Also top-level government officials (such as foreign leaders, US presidents, Founding Fathers, Supreme Court Justices, members of legislative bodies, cabinet members, military leaders, etc.) with positions relevant to alternative energy or fossil fuel issues.
Involvement and Affiliations:
  • Professor of Nuclear and Radiological Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 1993-present
  • Member, Los Alamos Neutron Science Center Nuclear Science Program Advisory Committee, 2006-present
  • Member, Board of Directors, Health Physics Society, 2006-present
  • Chairman, US Department of Energy Scientific Review Group of the Russian Health Studies Program, 2005-present
  • Member, International Commission of Radiological Protection Committee, 2002-present
  • Project Manager, US Department of Energy Nuclear Energy Research Initiative
  • Coordinator, Georgia Institute of Technology Focused Research Program on Pioneer Research in Nuclear Detection
  • Faculty Affiliate, Sam Nunn Security Program, Georgia Institute of Technology
  • 1st Vice-President, Council on Ionizing Radiation Measurements and Standards, 2007-2008
  • General Chair, 11th International Conference on Radiation Shielding, 2007-2008
  • Recipient, Technical Acheivement Award, American Nuclear Society, 2006
  • Recipient, Nuclear Engineering Division Glenn Murphy Award, American Society for Engineering Education, 2004
  • Recipient, Certificate of Appreciation, Los Alamos National Laboratory, 2001
  • Former Assistant and Associate Professor, University of Texas at Austin
Education:
  • PhD, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1979
  • MS, Texas A&M University, 1975
  • BS, Texas A&M University, 1973
Other:
  • None found
Quoted in:
  1. Is Nuclear Power Cost-Effective?