Sean O’Kelly

Dr. Sean O’Kelly is the associate laboratory director for the Advanced Test Reactor Complex at Idaho National Laboratory. As a senior leadership team member, he is responsible for the overall reactor operations, maintenance, experiments, and engineering for the 250 MW Advanced Test Reactor.

Dr. O’Kelly has more than 30 years of nuclear reactor experience. He served as deputy director at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Center for Neutron Research. He also served as chief of Reactor Operations and Engineering at NIST and was responsible for the direction and management of reactor operations, maintenance, and engineering for the NIST 20 MW test reactor. He has worked as a nuclear engineer at NIST, and as a manager and reactor operator at Texas A&M University and The University of Texas at Austin research reactors. He served in the U.S. Navy in Idaho as a prototype instructor and reactor operator and on the USS Benjamin Franklin as a reactor operator. He holds a doctorate in mechanical engineering from The University of Texas at Austin, and a master’s degree in industrial engineering, and a bachelor’s degree (cum laude) in physics from Texas A&M University.