Robert N. Coward

Bob Coward has led an extraordinary career, but it’s no less than what he expects for every new engineer who joins the team at MPR. Applicants face formidable competition from a pool of candidates culled from the best programs in the country. But Mr. Coward knows that great engineers are more than just brains: the best ones have an unquenchable ambition to find the height of their capabilities with every challenge. The mark of an MPR engineer is the innate drive to discover, innovate and solve. The hunger to have an impact in the world can be the difference between plotting an unremarkable professional trajectory and one that redefines the curve entirely. A pacesetter in the nuclear engineering field, Mr. Coward’s expertise and leadership won him the distinction of serving as president of the American Nuclear Society. Often Mr. Coward serves on blue-ribbon advisory panels to share advice and insight with national leaders in the public and private sectors. He graduated with honors from Duke University with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and is a registered Professional Engineer. A principal engineer and MPR employee since 1983, Bob’s path is lit by a vital pull to reach higher. “In everyone there is the instinctual striving to be what we are truly capable of, to have the greatest impact. That is the kind of career everyone at MPR is shooting for.” In the end, MPR is not just a place: it’s a thing that happens between like minds in the hallways, across desks, and in the field. When keen and curious minds collaborate, solutions greater than the sum of their parts emerge. Bob says, “A big part of the magic here is how people build off each other. When you get really smart people in a room face-to-face, they have a different kind of discussion and engagement – one that is more likely to create increased value and innovation.