Dr. Douglas Burns

Dr. Douglas Burns is the Department of Energy Program Manager for Space Nuclear Propulsion and the Reactor and Fuel Subsystem Manager for the NASA Space Nuclear Propulsion Program. He holds a PhD in nuclear engineering and an MBA from Idaho State University, a master’s degree in environmental engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, and a bachelor’s degree in geological engineering from New Mexico State University. He’s a professional engineer in the state of Idaho and holds a Project Management Professional certification. He’s served in various program management roles at the Idaho National Laboratory since 1993 and has extensive experience with nuclear power research and development, development of high-performance nuclear system modeling and simulation tools, remediation of radioactive environmental contamination, and nuclear reactor operations. His current research interests include development of high temperature materials for use in space reactor fuels and support systems.