Progress, Potential, and Possibilities Podcast / Show Dr. Rita Baranwal, Ph.D. - Senior Vice President, Energy Systems, Westinghouse Electric Company - Shaping Tomorrow's Energy With Safe, Clean And Reliable Nuclear Technology
Dr. Rita Baranwal, Ph.D. is Senior Vice President of the Energy Systems business unit of Westinghouse Electric Company, which is the nuclear power unit of Westinghouse, where her core focus is in leading the team developing and deploying their AP300 Small Modular Nuclear Reactor ( https://www.westinghousenuclear.com/Portals/0/about-2020/leadership/WEC_Bio_Dr._Rita_Baranwal_JUL22.pdf ). Dr. Baranwal recently served Chief Technology Officer of the organization, where she led the company’s global research and development investments, spearheading their technology strategy to advance the company’s nuclear innovation, and drove next-generation solutions for existing and new markets. Dr. Baranwal’s appointment to this CTO role in 2022 marked a return to Westinghouse where she worked for nearly a decade in leadership positions in the Global Technology Development, Fuel Engineering, and Product Engineering groups. Prior to rejoining Westinghouse, Dr. Baranwal served as Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy where she directed the R&D portfolio across current and advanced nuclear technologies while collaborating across nuclear utilities, national labs, reactor developers, academia and government stakeholders. She has also held senior leadership roles with the Idaho National Laboratory as Director of the Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN), and most recently was the Chief Nuclear Officer and Vice President of Nuclear for the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). Prior to joining Westinghouse, Dr. Baranwal was a manager in Materials Technology at Bechtel Bettis, Inc. where she led and conducted R&D in advanced nuclear fuel materials for US Naval Reactors. Dr. Baranwal is a Fellow of the American Nuclear Society. She has a bachelor’s degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in materials science and engineering and a master’s degree and Ph.D. in the same disciplines from the University of Michigan.