Jess C. Gehin

Jess Gehin serves as Idaho National Laboratory associate laboratory director for the Nuclear Science & Technology (NS&T) Directorate. He became NS&T associate laboratory director in March 2021 after serving as chief scientist for the directorate and has been with the laboratory since 2018.

During his 28-year career, he has built national strategies and priorities for nuclear energy, led complex projects and organizations, and developed strong relationships with senior leaders within INL, DOE and federal sponsors, and other laboratories, companies, and universities. He is well known and respected throughout the nuclear energy community for his deep technical knowledge, insight, integrity, and collaboration. In support of the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy, he served as the national technical director for the DOE Microreactor Program, and while at ORNL, served as director of the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors. He worked to impact INL by expanding NS&T’s strategic direction through a high-performing organization. He helped develop and establish key projects to build advanced reactors at INL such as the Department of Defense’s demonstration microreactor Project Pele, and the Microreactor Applications Research Validation and Evaluation (MARVEL) Project, which will be the first new reactor developed and started up at INL in over 40 years. He was instrumental in establishing INL’s scientific computing organization and served as its interim director.

Previously, he held research and leadership positions at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in nuclear reactor core physics, reactor core and system technologies, reactor modeling and simulation, and fuel cycle reactor applications. His academic experience includes positions as an associate professor at the University of Tennessee, and teaching/advising students.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering from Kansas State University, and master’s and doctoral degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a Fellow of the American Nuclear Society and has authored or co-authored more than 120 refereed journal and conference articles, technical reports, and conference summaries.