NRC veterans named to new executive positions
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has named Robert Lewis deputy executive director for operations in the areas of materials, waste, research, state, tribal, compliance, administration, and human capital programs. Craig Erlanger has been named director of the Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response (NSIR). Both appointments are effective on October 20, 2024.
Lewis
About Lewis: Lewis has 32 years of experience at the NRC, including specialization in waste management, nuclear fuel cycles, risk assessment, transportation, and emergency preparedness and response. Since 2019, he has served as deputy director of the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS).
Prior to that, he served as the assistant for operations in the Office of the Executive Director for Operations, where he led many aspects of the NRC’s recent efforts to modernize and transform its business practices and represented the United States on the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Commission on Safety Standards. He has also served as director of the Division of Preparedness and Response, in NSIR, where he oversaw post-Fukushima changes to NRC and licensee emergency management programs and improved integration of NRC activities into the national response framework.
A graduate of the NRC’s Technical Intern Program, Leadership Potential Program, and Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program, Lewis earned a bachelor’s degree in physics from the State University of New York at Fredonia and a master’s degree in nuclear engineering from the University of Arizona. He is a graduate of the Executive Leaders Program of the Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security.
Erlanger
About Erlanger: Erlanger joined the NRC in 2004 as a security specialist. He has held numerous positions throughout the NRC since, including serving as an NSIR branch chief, where he was a key contributor to implementation of risk-informed, performance-based cyber security for reactors, and managed integrated response and fuel cycle and transportation security. Among his notable contributions to the NRC were his efforts during the COVID-19 public health emergency, where he led integral elements of the agency’s comprehensive regulatory response to the global pandemic.
Since joining the senior executive service in 2014, he has served as both the deputy director and director of the Division of Fuel Cycle Safety, Safeguards, and Environmental Review in NMSS and head of the Division of Operating Reactor Licensing in the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. Most recently, he was the deputy director and acting director of NSIR.
Prior to joining the NRC, Erlanger worked in the private sector for a consulting firm focusing on physical security vulnerability assessments and business continuity programs. He also served more than 20 years in the U.S. Marine Corps in both active and reserve duty roles.
Erlanger earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the U.S. Naval Academy and a master’s degree in business administration from American University. He is a graduate of the NRC’s Leadership Potential Program and SES Candidate Development Program, and a recent graduate of the Center for Homeland Defense and Security Executive Leaders Program at the Naval Post Graduate School.