The Honorable William D. Magwood, IV was sworn in as a Commissioner of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on April 1, 2010, to an initial term ending on June 30, 2010, and a reappointment term ending June 30, 2015.
Mr. Magwood has a distinguished career in the nuclear field and in public service. He was the longest-serving head of the United States' civilian nuclear technology program, serving two Presidents and five Secretaries of Energy from 1998 until 2005.
Mr. Magwood served seven years as the Director of Nuclear Energy with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), where he was the senior nuclear technology official in the United States Government and the senior nuclear technology policy advisor to the Secretary of Energy. He oversaw the restoration of the Federal nuclear technology program and led the creation of "Nuclear Power 2010," “Generation IV,” and other innovative initiatives—including efforts that helped reverse the decline in American nuclear technology education. Before his appointment to lead the Office of Nuclear Energy, he served four years as its Associate Director for Technology and Program Planning.
During his tenure at DOE, Mr. Magwood was recognized as a strong advocate of international technology cooperation and served as Chairman of both the Generation IV International Forum and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Steering Committee on Nuclear Energy. After his DOE service, Mr. Magwood founded and headed Advanced Energy Strategies, a company that provided strategic advice to domestic and international organizations.
Prior to his appointments at DOE, Mr. Magwood managed electric utility research and nuclear policy programs at the Edison Electric Institute in Washington, D.C. Before that, he was a scientist at Westinghouse Electric Corporation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Magwood holds a B.S. degree in physics and a B.A. degree in English from Carnegie-Mellon University. He also holds an M.F.A. degree from the University of Pittsburgh.