Jess Gehin, Board Member

Jess Gehin became associate laboratory director for INL’s Nuclear Science & Technology (NS&T) Directorate in March 2021 after serving as chief scientist for the directorate since 2018. Over 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. In support of the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy, he served as the national technical director for the DOE Microreactor Program.

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. While at ORNL, he served as director of the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors.

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. His was an associate professor at the University of Tennessee, 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.