Leon Walters

Dr. Walters is a recognized international expert in nuclear reactor fuel. He has had a long and distinguished career at Argonne National Laboratory, where he rose to the position of Director, Fuels and Materials Division and then Director of Engineering Division, managing tens of millions of dollars related to fast-reactor development.

His experience is both hands-on and analytic. He led the development of fuels and materials for fast reactors over a 34-year career, concentrating on metal fuel, which is the fuel of choice for the ARC reactor. Its development involved many innovations, which were then proven in irradiation testing of the EBR-II. Perhaps his most important achievement was the successful design of plutonium-bearing metal fuel and later the inclusion of minor actinides. In the course of this work, Dr. Walters has led the design and construction of three first-of-a-kind fuel fabrication facilities. Later in his career, he turned his attention to hydrogen production using nuclear power and preservation of the fast-reactor knowledge base.