Leadership Pipleline

By 2008, it is estimated that 30 percent of the current nuclear workforce will be eligible to retire. The number jumps to 50 percent by the year 2018. The loss of our most experienced engineers and managers, tied to the current gap between senior and junior engineers, results in a major challenge for the nuclear industry How do we produce the leadership needed for tomorrow’s nuclear industry?

At OSU, we are not only committed to producing technically excellent nuclear engineers and radiation health physicists, we are also committed to building the next generation of leaders for the nuclear industry. This can only be done effectively by building close relationships with our nuclear industry partners. The general objective of the LPP is to identify, strengthen and promote leadership for the future nuclear energy industry. The specific goal will be to select, through a competitive process, one or two of the top “student leaders” in our department to work directly under the supervision of a high level nuclear industry manager.

Have you seen the TV program “The Apprentice” with Donald Trump? Dan Keuter, VP of Nuclear Business Development at Entergy, has agreed to fund and “personally” train two apprentices to work directly with him during the Summer of 2007. The idea is to provide them a unique internship experience by having them learn the business first hand from a top down view – That is, day to day operations at the Vice President level.

Eligibility

Candidates must have completed the junior year of nuclear engineering or radiation health physics or be enrolled as a graduate student in nuclear engineering or radiation health physics. Candidates must have demonstrable leadership experience.

Selection Process

We are now accepting applications from student leaders to qualify for the competition. Selections will be based on screening criteria which will have an emphasis on demonstrated leadership qualities.

Top applicants will be selected for an interview and of those interviewed, four will be selected. These four candidates' applications, interview information, and supporting material will be made available to Entergy's management who will select the top two candidates for the summer apprenticeship.

Deadlines

Application deadlines with the supporting material are due January 15, 2007. Interviews will be conducted in January 2007 and the final two selections will be made by February 22, 2007.

Dan Keuter is currently Vice President of Business Development for Entergy Nuclear, a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation, one of the largest utilities in the United States. Under Dan Keuter's guidance, Entergy Nuclear has become a national leader in acquiring and operating US nuclear power plants. He has previously held progressively responsible positions with Portland General Electric, Rancho Seco, and Tennessee Valley Authority, and has developed a broad background in plant operations, corporate oversight and support, nuclear assessment, and plant management.

Received his BS from Oregon State University in Nuclear Engineering in 1973.

Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, and it is the second-largest nuclear generator in the United States.

Entergy delivers electricity to 2.7 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of more than $10 billion and approximately 14,000 employees.