[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 90 (Monday, May 24, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3331-S3332]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                     REMEMBERING DR. PETER B. LYONS

 Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. President, it is my honor to recognize the 
life of Dr. Peter B. Lyons, a steadfast and selfless public servant, 
who over the course of an unparalleled and distinguished career at Los 
Alamos National Laboratory, the U.S. Senate, the Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, and the U.S. Department of Energy, made numerous 
contributions to the field of nuclear physics, to the State of New 
Mexico, and to our country's nuclear energy community.
  In 2010, Dr. Lyons was confirmed as the Assistant Secretary for 
Nuclear Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy. As Assistant 
Secretary, he focused on incorporating modeling and

[[Page S3332]]

simulation into all programs through the Nuclear Energy Advanced 
Modeling and Simulation Program, advancing the management of used 
nuclear fuel through the development of the Strategy for the Management 
and Disposal of Used Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste, and 
leading the Nuclear Energy Group that established the Small Modular 
Reactor Licensing Technical Support Program for a new generation of 
safe, reliable, low-carbon nuclear energy technology. Under his 
leadership, the Nuclear Energy University Program also expanded its 
successful work supporting universities in the United States as they 
prepared the next generation of nuclear engineering leaders.
  Prior to his leadership at the Department of Energy, Dr. Lyons served 
for 4\1/2\ years on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and for 8 years 
as an invaluable member of U.S. Senator Pete V. Domenici's staff, when 
Senator Domenici was the chairman of both the Senate Energy Committee 
and Appropriations Energy and Water Development Subcommittee. He and 
Senator Domenici focused on broadening the use of nuclear energy in its 
safest configuration as a critical way to reduce dependence on other 
forms of energy that contributed to climate change.
  For nearly 30 years, Dr. Lyons worked as a nuclear physicist at Los 
Alamos National Laboratory. He served as Director for Industrial 
Partnerships, Deputy Associate Director for Energy and Environment, and 
Deputy Associate Director for Defense Research and Applications. At Los 
Alamos, he also spent a decade supporting nuclear test diagnostics and 
served as the Chairman of the NATO Nuclear Effects Task Force. He 
published more than 100 technical papers and held three patents related 
to fiber optics and plasma diagnostics. He was also elected to the Los 
Alamos School Board for 16 years, a true reflection of his broad 
dedication to public service.
  Dr. Lyons received his undergraduate degree in physics and 
mathematics from the University of Arizona and his doctorate in nuclear 
astrophysics from the California Institute of Technology. He was a 
fellow of the American Nuclear Society, ANS, a fellow of the American 
Physical Society, and recipient of the Eisenhower Award for 
distinguished service from the ANS.
  Behind all of these extraordinary achievements and vital 
contributions to our country lay a humble, kind, and profoundly decent 
person. All who knew Dr. Lyons, or ``Pete,'' as he insisted his friends 
and associates call him, will never forget his kindness, his 
thoughtfulness, and his willingness to help everyone who approached 
him. Even as he fought the cancer that eventually took his life, he 
retained his optimistic nature and his great sense of humor.
  My thoughts are with all of Pete's family, friends, and colleagues as 
they mourn his loss and reflect on all that he accomplished in his 
life.

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