Alan Waltar

Alan E. Waltar is an American nuclear engineer and professor of nuclear engineering, known for his work on fast nuclear reactors and reactor safety. Born on 10 July 1939 in Chehalis, Washington, he studied electrical engineering at the University of Washington, took a master's degree in nuclear engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1962 and a doctorate at the University of California, Berkeley in 1966. He began his career at the Hanford Site, working from 1966 on the Fast Flux Test Facility from its inception and on the regulatory approval of fast neutron reactors, and later headed the nuclear engineering department at Texas A&M University. He wrote the textbook Fast Breeder Reactors, served as president of the American Nuclear Society in 1994 and 1995, and has been a public advocate for nuclear energy. He received the Landis Public Communication and Education Award in 2004.