Harold Conner Jr. (BS ’68, MS ’78) was selected as the 2026 inductee into the Department of Nuclear Engineering Hall of Fame.
Conner, who has more than five decades of experience in the nuclear industry with the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Security Administration, was honored during the annual NE Awards Banquet on May 6 at The Press Room.
“The University of Tennessee nuclear engineering department is a national treasure and has been an integral part of research and development efforts through every nuclear renaissance era,” Conner said. “I have enjoyed working together with all the past and present department heads and I am thankful for this honor and prestigious award.”
While working on multiple nuclear projects across various DOE sites, Conner’s roles included site manager at the Oak Ridge K-25 site and executive vice president of enrichment facilities in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Ohio. He also served as the chief operating officer at Idaho National Laboratory and the Savannah River site in Aiken, South Carolina.
Conner is a licensed professional engineer in Tennessee and South Carolina. He is a member of the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society and was named fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and the American Society for Engineering Management.
Conner has served on the UT NE Board of Advisors, the Tickle College of Engineering Board of Advisors, the Alumni Board of Directors, and was elected to the AIChE Board of Directors.
“We need to continue the excellent research and development that is occurring within the nuclear department at the Tickle College of Engineering and continue to train the next generation of engineers,” Conner said. “There is a bright future ahead for the nuclear enterprise, and UT is playing a vital role in helping construct that vision.”
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Rhiannon Potkey ([email protected])