Service Branch: U.S. Navy
Years of Service: 5
Would you like to share any details of your military history, awards you may have received or other accomplishments?
I served in the nuclear submarine service out of Mare Island, CA and Pearl Harbor, HI. I deployed to the Arctic, West Pacific, and South America, including a surfacing at the North Pole.
Please take a moment to reflect on your thoughts when considering your service uniform. What does your service uniform represent to you?
It represents to me the long line of others who served, for over 200 years, since the naval uniform has barely changed since the beginning of the Navy.
Teamwork is essential across many contexts in life. Please share how your service in the military cultivated an appreciation for the value of teamwork. Do you draw from these experiences, or what similarities exist, when working within teams at the DOE?
Starting at the Naval Academy, we learned that the mission can only be accomplished with everyone on the team contributing, and that everyone must contribute. And the importance of a section of the Navy poem “Laws of the Navy” we had to memorize: “On the strength of one link in the cable, Dependeth the might of the chain”
Military service can have a profound and lasting impact on those who serve. Your perspective is unique in having seen both the military and the civilian sides of service. What story could you share of service before self?
My father came to this country fleeing oppression from dictatorship, and taught me to appreciate all that the USA offered, and that laid the foundation of my desire to give back.
What inspired your interest the agency, and how did your prior service prepare you to join the DOE’s workforce?
Having spent my early years being trained by Naval Reactors and operating submarine reactors, followed by years in the commercial energy, innovation and technology industries, and over a decade on a DOE advisory board, my interest in the DOE mission ran throughout my whole adult life.
Your talents contribute to an innovative and vibrant scientific ecosystem important for matters of national security, energy technologies, and economic prosperity. How does your role, whether directly or indirectly, allow the agency to continue push the frontiers of science?
In my role as U/S for Science, I spend each day reviewing and allocating the resources of the Department and the country to the most interesting frontiers of science. The world is at the cusp of amazing jumps in six key areas: AI/ML, Quantum Information Science, advanced and sustainable energy, space exploration, advanced mobility, and genomics. And the Department has an important leadership role in all six areas.
