Howard Walls, an executive at the Savannah River Site, will serve as a "loaned executive" to South Carolina State University in Orangeburg for the next six months.
As vice president and director of strategic planning and mission integration for the Westinghouse Savannah River Co., Walls directs the development of strategies in support of SRS' present missions and the integration of new missions.
SRS was built during the early 1950s to produce the basic materials used in the fabrication of nuclear weapons, primarily tritium and plutonium-239, in support of our nation's defense programs.
WSRC operates SRS with a team of companies for the U.S. Department of Energy. WSRC's parent company is Washington Group International.
Walls holds bachelor of science degrees in physics and mathematics from Tougaloo College, a master of science degree in nuclear engineering from Tuskegee Institute and an executive MBA from Stanford University.
He has 27 years of managerial experience in business operations.
As a loaned executive to SCSU, he will assist in strategic planning, integration and assurance of sound project plan development of the university's capital improvement spending plan.
"Providing Howard Walls as a loaned executive will strengthen what has already been an excellent relationship between SRS and South Carolina State University," WSRC President Bob Pedde said.
"In the past, WSRC has partnered with South Carolina State University in environmental restoration research and the university's nuclear engineering program providing an ideal example of the valuable contribution education and industry can make to each other," Pedde said.
SCSU last year signed a memorandum of understanding with WSRC intended to stimulate joint efforts to improve science and technology education and research in the areas of nuclear engineering, machine tooling and fabrication techniques, measurement techniques, mechanical and robotics design, environmental services, hydrogen fuel-cell technologies for transportation and transportation delivery systems for nuclear materials throughout South Carolina.
The memorandum of understanding also provides opportunities for personnel exchanges, faculty/scientist loans, joint student research mentoring and the sharing of state-of-the-art research equipment and facilities.