Dr. Brenden Heidrich is the Director of the Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF), based out of the Idaho National Laboratory (INL).  As the NSUF Director, he focuses on building a program to enable nuclear energy researchers to access national capabilities to further their endeavors.  He previously served as the NSUF Chief Scientist for Irradiations and the Irradiation Testing Department Manager for the Nuclear Fuels and Materials Division at the INL.  Before moving to INL, Dr. Heidrich was a research professor at the Radiation Science and Engineering Center at the Pennsylvania State University where he taught reactor physics and nuclear security and was a licensed senior reactor operator.  

Dr. Heidrich’s career has been focused on the design, operation, and utilization of research and test reactors to perform research, education, and outreach. Beyond his leadership role with the NSUF, he also assists the Department of Energy in research reactor infrastructure areas.  He is a licensed professional nuclear engineer in Idaho and Pennsylvania.

Dr. Heidrich learned nuclear engineering in the US Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, serving onboard the USS Enterprise nuclear aircraft carrier.  Later he received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Nuclear Engineering from Pennsylvania State University, and doctoral degree in Energy and Mineral Engineering from Penn State. He serves on the executive committees (EC) of the Isotopes and Radiation and the Material Science and Technology Divisions and previously served on the Human Factors Instrumentation and Controls Division EC, the Public Policy Committee, and the Professional Engineering Examination Committee of the American Nuclear Society.

nuclear fuels and materials, reactor physics, experiment design, data science, AI/ML, criticality safety, energy economics, decision science, reactor design