ORAU’s Eric Abelquist named new president of national Health Physics Society

 

The Health Physics Society named ORAU Executive Vice President and Chief Research Officer Eric Abelquist its new president at its 62nd annual meeting in Raleigh this week.

Abelquist has been president-elect for the past year, and he has visited HPS chapters across the country as part of the transition to become president, getting to know members and soliciting feedback in order to better understand issues that need to be addressed, a press release said.

According to its website, HPS is a professional organization whose mission is excellence in the science and practice of radiation safety. HPS activities include encouraging research in radiation science, developing standards, and disseminating radiation safety information. HPS members are involved in understanding, evaluating, and controlling the potential risks from radiation relative to the benefits, the press release said.

When asked what he plans to accomplish as the new HPS president, Abelquist said: “Thanks to the leadership of the current administration, HPS has made outstanding progress on the new HPS strategic plan. The broad strategic areas I’ll focus on during my tenure include membership value proposition, implementation of proposed governance changes, and helping our academic programs secure more funding for health physics research.”

Abelquist has a doctorate degree in nuclear engineering and a master of business administration from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in addition to a master of science and bachelor of science degree in radiation sciences from the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

In 1993, he began his ORAU career as a project leader conducting independent verification surveys at U.S. Department of Energy and Nuclear Regulatory Commission decommissioning sites. For more than 15 years, he served as a thought leader in the performance of radiological surveys that support decommissioning, and he helped with the development and implementation of the Multiagency Radiation Survey and Site Investigation Manual (MARSSIM), the press release said. He was a part of founding the Decommissioning Section of the HPS, and he published Decommissioning Health Physics.

In his current position, he works with the ORAU leadership team to formulate organizational strategic objectives and manage key strategic initiatives in addition to expanding collaborative research opportunities with ORAU member universities, the press release said.

ORAU provides innovative scientific and technical solutions to advance national priorities in science, health, education, and national security. Through specialized teams of experts, unique laboratory capabilities and access to a consortium of more than 100 major Ph.D.-granting institutions, ORAU works with federal, state, local, and commercial customers to advance national priorities and serve the public interest. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation and federal contractor, ORAU manages ORISE for DOE. Learn more about ORAU at www.orau.org.

This press release was submitted by Pam Bonee.