ASME President, 1987-1988

Richard Rosenberg spent 25 years with GA Technologies in San Diego, Calif., mostly in the design and development of various components for nuclear power reactors.

He retired in 1986 as manager, systems and components, directing all GA activities for the Fort St. Vrain nuclear power plant, which is owned and operated by the Public Service Co. of Colorado.  Mr. Rosenberg, who began working for GA (then General Atomic) in 1961, had been supervising engineer for the design, development, testing and field installation of fuel-handling equipment and control rod drives for the high temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGR) produced by GA. During tat time, GA designed and developed the first computer-controlled fuel-handling machine in the United States.

Mr. Rosenberg left GA from 1971 to 1972 to work for the Atomic Energy Commission in Washington, D.C.

He returned to GA in late 1972 and in 1980 became manager, machine design and development, which in addition to reactor servicing equipment, fuel-handling equipment and control rod devices, included the design and development of all rotating machinery for HTGR reactors.  Mr. Rosenberg held the position until 1983 when he became manager, systems and components.

In 1960, before joining GA, he worked at Advanced Technology Laboratories, a division of American Standard, in Mountain View, Calif., where he directed preliminary design and procurement specifications for a small pressurized water reactor (PWR), steam generator and pressurizer.

From 1955 to 1960, he worked on the design and construction of the Shipping port Pressurized Water Reactor, the first commercial nuclear power plant in the U.S. while working for the Westinghouse Bettis Laboratories in West Mifflin, Pa.  He spent the previous five years as a member of the Special Equipment Design Section of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Active in ASME since his college days, Mr. Rosenberg was a member of the Board of Governors from 1982 to 1984; vice president for Region IX (California, Nevada, Arizona and Hawaii) from 1978 to 1980, and chairman of the San Diego Section from 1966 to 1967.   He has held many other Section and regional offices, as well as serving on various technical committees.

Mr. Rosenberg, a registered professional engineer in Pennsylvania and California, holds several patents related to mechanical equipment for nuclear reactors. He is a Fellow of ASME and a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE).

He has been active in Amigos de las Americas, which has chapters throughout the U.S. and works through various South American government agencies to send young people to rural areas to perform medical tasks under the direction of the local authorities.

Mr. Rosenberg earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in 1954, after studying at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville.

Mr. Rosenberg and his wife, Esther, live in San Diego. They have three daughters.