NNSA Administrator D’Agostino retiring in January

Thomas P. D’Agostino, administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, announced his retirement today.

In a statement Friday, D’Agostino said he will retire Jan. 18, the end of President Barack Obama’s first term. He has been NNSA administrator and under secretary for nuclear security for more than five years. He was also deputy administrator for defense programs for two years.

The Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge is an NNSA site. The NNSA is a separate agency within the U.S. Department of Energy.

D’Agostino has had 36 years of federal service, rising through the ranks of the U.S. Navy and then leading nuclear security efforts at DOE.

In a separate statement, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said D’Agostino has been a leader through a period of unprecedented international attention and complex transition.

“Under his watch, we have eliminated or secured hundreds of nuclear weapons worth of nuclear materials,” Chu said. “We have reduced the number of deployed warheads to the lowest level since the 1950s—an approximate reduction of 85 percent from the darkest days of the Cold War—while successfully maintaining the safety, security, and effectiveness of a shrinking stockpile. Through EM (environmental management), we have permanently cleaned up 690 square miles of contaminated land—an area more than 30 times the size of Manhattan—and completed the cleanup of 22 transuranic waste sites across the nation, permanently eliminating an environmental risk at these sites and reducing the cost of monitoring and storing this waste.”

D’Agostino said the decision to retire was difficult.

“I am committed to serving our country, committed to the missions of the NNSA, the Environmental Management organization, the Office of Legacy Management, and I am committed to you in carrying out this mission,” D’Agostino said. “However, I have an equally important commitment to my wife and family, and I am a strong believer that organizations are healthier when leadership changes on a periodic basis. The time is right for this change.”

D’Agostino said NNSA Principal Deputy Administrator Neile Miller will become acting administrator and acting undersecretary for nuclear security.

The position requires a presidential appointment and Senate confirmation.

More information will be added later.