Wayne Johnson: Academy of Distinguished Engineers - 2015

Director, Earth Systems Science Division Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Richland, Washington

As Wayne Johnson began his highly successful career as a nuclear engineer, he was immediately able to apply the skills he learned as an undergraduate at Oregon State. Although the technical foundation was crucial to his success, he also has been particularly grateful for what he learned about communication, collaboration, and leadership. “I was really pleased with how well Oregon State prepared me,” he said. “I continue to draw on some of those lessons.”After graduating, Johnson started out as an officer in the U.S. Navy at the Division of Naval Reactors. That experience prepared him to work with Westinghouse on environmental restoration and technology deployment at the Hanford, Washington, nuclear site. Later, he was a senior project manager at Parsons, developing and implementing reactor accident cleanup and stabilization plans at Chernobyl, Ukraine, while earning a master’s in engineering management from Washington State University.Today, as director of the Earth Systems Science Division, Johnson oversees six technical groups and approximately 240 staff. His group conducts a wide range of environmentally related research in support of nuclear waste cleanup, natural resource management, and energy production. He is responsible for leading Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s support to Japan in response to the Fukushima disaster.“I feel very fortunate that I’ve been able to work on some really global challenges,” said Johnson. “The nuclear power community is relatively small, and I’m glad to have the ability to work on those problems that will allow the continued safe use of nuclear power.”