Ken Tarcza joins ORAU as chief of staff

Ken Tarcza has joined Oak Ridge Associated Universities as chief of staff.

Tarcza comes to ORAU after an impressive military and federal career, a press release said.

A graduate of West Point, Tarcza spent his military career serving in numerous roles, including assistant professor of mechanical engineering at West Point; commander of the Defense Contract Management Agency’s Southern Europe office in Wiesbaden, Germany; and chief of staff for the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.

After retiring from the military in 2015, he went on to be a supervisory physical scientist for the U.S. Army Research Laboratory at Aberdeen Proving Ground before being named manager for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office and Office of Science Integrated Support Center/Consolidated Service Center in 2016. There, Tarcza and his organization helped enable more than $10 billion of annual program activity, the press release said.

“We are so excited to have Ken join ORAU,” ORAU President Andy Page said. “He brings an extensive depth and breadth of experience in science, research, management, and leadership.”

Tarcza earned a bachelor’s of science degree in mechanical engineering from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and a master’s and doctoral degree in mechanical engineering and materials from the University of Texas at Austin. He is also an Eagle Scout.

ORAU is a nonprofit corporation that has a specialized teams of experts and access to a consortium of more than 150 major Ph.D.-granting institutions. ORAU works with federal, state, local, and commercial customers to provide scientific and technical solutions and help advance their missions, and it manages the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education for the U.S. Department of Energy.