Jeff Edlund was honored by NNSA and the Department of Energy as its Safety System Oversight Engineer of the Year for 2020.
National Nuclear Security Administration
June 17, 2021
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Jeff Edlund was honored by NNSA and the Department of Energy as its Safety System Oversight (SSO) Engineer of the Year for 2020.
The SSO award, which this year was given virtually, recognized Edlund’s work at the NNSA Production Office (NPO) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, where he previously served as a nuclear safety specialist, facility representative (FR), and SSO. The award recognizes his outstanding achievements in leadership, teamwork, and innovation in establishing a hybrid standard for NPO with a facility representative/safety system oversight dual role. In addition to being assigned some of the most complex and high hazard facility areas as an FR, Edlund also oversaw a diverse array of safety systems.
This is not the first time Edlund has been recognized for his excellence. In 2015, he was also selected as the DOE/NNSA Facility Representative of the Year – making him the first person to receive both awards. As a demonstrated expert in his field, Edlund’s accomplishments have not gone unnoticed. “Over the course of a decade, Mr. Edlund drove safety improvements at the Y-12 National Security Complex,” said Teresa Robbins, NNSA Production Office Manager. “He is highly regarded for his expertise, leadership, teamwork, and innovation, and this award celebrates his exceptional work.”
Get out in the field and walk down your systems. Show your face and meet the people – that is the key to learning how the work is being done.
Because of his love for the desert Southwest and his desire to gain more experience at multiple sites across the NNSA enterprise, Edlund accepted a new position with the Nevada Field Office doing work at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) in late 2020. In February, he transferred from Tennessee to Nevada and is currently a facility representative, where he provides day-to-day oversight of the Site’s underground safety and subcritical experiment operations.
His new supervisor, Dan Rivas, Deputy Assistant Manager for Operations and Safety, is very pleased to have Edlund on the team. “NFO welcomes Edlund, his professionalism, and technical knowledge,” said Rivas. “In his short tenure here, he has successfully adapted to a completely different environment and is becoming a significant contributor in the NFO family.”
When asked what advice he has for a new FR or SSO, Edlund said, “Get out in the field and walk down your systems. Show your face and meet the people – that is the key to learning how the work is being done.” As for his future with NNSA, he stated, “I still have a lot ahead of me and a lot to figure out when I grow up … but I enjoy what I do and look forward to contributing whatever I can for the DOE/NNSA mission.”