Photo by RANDY HAYES/Idaho Falls Post Register

Former Corvallis resident Mr. Theron Bradley Jr. has become the new chief engineer for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

By JESSE SOWA
Gazette-Times reporter

A former Corvallis man will soon be on the forefront of an effort by NASA to explore the use of nuclear power for space travel, thanks to his vast experience working with nuclear vessels.

In early July, Theron M. Bradley Jr. will join NASA as it's chief engineer, stationed in Washington, D.C. He'll relinquish his duties at the Idaho National Engineering Lab, about 65 miles west of Idaho Falls, where he performed reactor safety exams on naval ships from around the country and tested nuclear submarines.

"It's obviously very exciting, and I'm a little apprehensive about it being such a responsible position," Bradley said. "It's something I've always been fascinated with."

He and his wife Karen, a registered nurse, sold the family's home in Idaho Falls last week and will soon make a trip to the nation's capital to search for a new place to live.

Earlier this year, Bradley was told his name was on a list of possible candidates for the lofty position.

"It found me, more than the other way around," he said.

Bradley went to Washington, D.C. for an interview and later learned he had been selected.

NASA received additional funding to research the use of nuclear power for spacecraft, and Bradley could be the person leading that exploration. He said his experience with submarines and ships will be valuable and somewhat like his new line of work.

"The engineering problems of operating in space and operating submarines under water, a lot of them are in fact similar," he said.

Bradley last lived in Corvallis in 1969, when he graduated from Oregon State University with degrees in mathematics, nuclear physics and engineering. He was also a member of the Navy ROTC, with which he held the rank of ensign. In 1965 he graduated from Corvallis High School, where he was a member of the Honor Society, a National Merit Scholarship finalist and an Oregon Scholar. He is also a graduate of Corvallis High School.

For the last 20 years, he's been the director of Naval Nuclear Propulsion as a field representative and manager of that agency's Idaho branch office. During his Navy career, he served as director of submarine systems for the Trident submarine program and aided in the initial design of the nuclear propulsion plan for Nimitz class aircraft carriers and the advanced reactor design for Los Angeles class submarines.

He is a former Navy nuclear engineer in the Naval Nuclear Propulsion program. He's also served as a civilian with the U.S. Department of Energy and the Department of Defense in numerous leadership and management positions with the Office of Naval Reactors, at the Idaho branch and in Washington D.C.

Jesse Sowa covers public safety and general assignments for the Gazette-Times. He can be reached at jesse.sowa@lee.net or 758-9521.