Member of the Board of Advisors

Brittain E Hill

Brittain E. Hill NMSS/DHLWRS, MS T7F27 US Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555-0001 beh1<at>nrc.gov

Brittain Hill is the Senior Technical Advisor for Repository Sciences at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in Washington, D.C. He serves as the NRC's chief geologist for the Yucca Mountain radioactive waste repository program, where he is helping determine the safety of this site for the next thousand millennia or so. Prior to joining the NRC in 2005, he was a Principal Scientist at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas, where he led multidisciplinary teams that investigated volcanic hazard and risk assessments at critical facilities around the world. He has had the rare opportunity to combine field and experimental data into advanced numerical models for geoscience and engineering processes, which are used to support societal and policy decisions on geohazard issues. He also has digitized maps and sat on drill rigs in Nevada and Utah winters.

While working on his Ph.D. in Geology (1991) from Oregon State University, Brittain worked as a consultant to numerous geothermal and natural resources companies, including the State of Oregon. After receiving his MS in Geology (1984) from Oregon State University, he worked for several years at UNOCAL Geothermal as an exploration geologist. He has a B.A. in Geological Sciences (1981) from the University of California at Santa Barbara, and is a Registered Professional Geoscientist in Texas.

Brittain lives in New Market, Maryland with his wife, Ute, and daughter, Megan. In occasional moments of spare time, he enjoys skiing, freshwater fishing, and brewing beer. Students who are interested in pursuing nontraditional career paths in the geosciences, or who are interested in geohazard and risk issues, are encouraged to contact him directly.