NRC Appoints Scott Flanders as Permanent CIO

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has named a permanent chief information officer.

In a press release issued on Wednesday, the U.S. nuclear regulator promoted Deputy CIO Scott Flanders to the CIO role, effective June 2.

Flanders joined NRC in 1991 as a reactor engineer intern and later moved to the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards Division of Site Safety and Environmental Analysis and the Office of New Reactors, FedScoop reported.

Raymond Furstenau, acting executive director for operations at the NRC, said in the same press release that Flanders rose through the ranks within the agency to develop extensive skills in information technology and a deep understanding of its mission amid the challenges presented by the future.

The new CIO’s appointment comes as the agency prepares to adopt artificial intelligence into its operations. In a report released in early May, NRC staffers identified 36 possible applications of the emerging technology and provided recommendations on developing a framework that will guide the AI use cases.