Mirela Gavrilas

Dr. Mirela Gavrilas currently serves as Director of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response.  Dr. Gavrilas joined the NRC in 2004 as a Reactor System Engineer in the Office of Nuclear Reactor Research.  Dr. Gavrilas occupied leadership positions of increasing responsibility in the ensuing years, including several senior management positions in the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR).  Most recently, Dr. Gavrilas served as NRR’s Deputy Office Director for Reactor Safety Programs and Mission Support, where she was recognized for her many accomplishments, including the review for the construction permit for the SHINE Medical Technologies, leading the development of the agency’s accident tolerant fuel plan, modernizing NRR’s workload management processes and metrics, and her ability to collaboratively address risks and hazards associated with complex topics.  Earlier, Dr. Gavrilas served as Deputy Director, Division of Policy and Rulemaking; Deputy Director, Division of Risk Assessment; and Director, Division of Safety Systems.  Dr. Gavrilas also has experience in international cooperation in severe accident phenomenology, risk assessment, fuels and safety analysis methods and is a graduate of NRC’s 2014 Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program.

Prior to joining the NRC, Dr. Gavrilas served on the University of Maryland faculty, where she led the first Nuclear Energy Agency/Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development international standard problem for computational fluid mechanics.  She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Maryland and a Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.