ASME President, 1999 - 2000

Robert E. Nickell, Ph.D., the secretary-treasurer of ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) and past president of the Society (1999-2000), is a technical expert in the nuclear power field and longtime contributor to the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code.  His engineering consulting company, Applied Science & Technology of Poway, Calif., specializes in life-cycle management and license renewal issues relating to nuclear generating plants.

Dr. Nickell, 67, was born in Reedley, Calif. and attended the University of California at Berkeley.  He received a Ph.D. in engineering science in 1967.

Upon graduation, Dr. Nickell joined the firm of Rohm & Haas, Huntsville, Ala., as a research engineer.  When Rohm & Haas decided to close its Huntsville facility, he was hired by Bell Telephone Laboratories in New Jersey, first as a member of the technical staff and later as a supervisor of solid mechanics.  At Bell Labs, Dr. Nickell directed research and development programs aimed at improving the manufacture of Western Electric Company’s line of electronic and government defense systems.

In 1971, Bell Labs assigned Dr. Nickell to a temporary academic post at Brown University, Providence, R.I., where he taught engineering courses on structural design, applied mechanics and finite element analysis.  Concurrently, he conducted research on viscous fluid flow, heat transfer and nonlinear structural dynamics.  During that period, Dr. Nickell was honored with the Naval Structural Mechanics Award by the Office of Naval Research and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).

In 1973, Dr. Nickell returned to the Bell System joining the technical staff of Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, N.M., at first on nuclear weapons programs and later on civilian nuclear power projects.  These included spent fuel transport, plant safety and in-service inspection of reactor components.  He was heavily involved in ASME’s codes and standards addressing elevated temperature design.

Dr. Nickell left Sandia in 1977 and, over the following three years, performed private consulting services for clients in government and industry.  His focus and specialty was nuclear power plants.  In 1980, he joined the Electric Power Research Institute in Palo Alto, Calif., where he managed projects on structural integrity issues.  He was also involved in the industry research program related to clean-up activities following the accident at Three Mile Island.

Dr. Nickell returned to his consulting practice in 1984.  In addition to life-cycle management and license renewal activities, Dr. Nickell became involved in structural integrity evaluations, transport and storage of spent fuel, fabrication of transport casks, risk assessment, federal regulations and consensus codes and standards.  Clients have included electric utilities, government agencies, research organizations and manufacturers.

Dr. Nickell contributed to the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code for 27 years, and is past-chairman of the Subgroup of Section III.  He has also served the Pressure Vessel and Piping Division, National Nominating Committee, COE Budget Committee, Finance Committee, and Board on Communications.  He has served on the ASME Board of Governors.

He is a Fellow of ASME and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.  Other professional affiliations include the American Society of Civil Engineers and the American Nuclear Society.