Commissioner Ho K. Nieh

The Honorable Ho Nieh was sworn in as a Commissioner of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on December 4, 2025, for a term ending June 30, 2029. He is the first former NRC resident inspector to serve as a Commissioner.

Immediately prior to this appointment, Nieh served as an officer of Southern Nuclear on loan to the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO). He joined Southern Nuclear in March 2021 to assume the role of Vice President of Regulatory Affairs after more than 20 years as an NRC staff member.

While at the NRC, Nieh served as Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, where he was responsible for reactor safety licensing and oversight programs for operating and new reactors. His other roles at the NRC included: Senior Resident Inspector; Director of the Division Reactor Projects in Region 1, in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania; Director of Division Inspection and Regional Support at NRC headquarters; and Chief of Staff for Commissioner William Ostendorff.

In addition, Nieh previously worked at the Nuclear Energy Agency as Director of the Division of Nuclear Safety Technology and Regulation, where he enhanced international cooperation for nuclear safety regulatory authorities and research institutes. He also served as Communications Advisor to the International Atomic Energy Agency and worked at Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory as a civilian instructor for the Navy’s Nuclear Power Program.

Nieh earned his Bachelor of Engineering in marine engineering from New York Maritime College and is a graduate of the United States Naval Nuclear Power School. He attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for graduate studies in nuclear engineering and earned a Master of Business Administration from Johns Hopkins University. Nieh completed the Executive Education in Strategic Management program from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. He also completed the INPO Senior Nuclear Plant Manager program. 

December 2025