Purdue names Seungjin Kim its first chief nuclear officer; announced at Indianapolis summit

Purdue announced Oct. 19, 2026, during the Global Nuclear Energy Economic Summit in Indianapolis that Seungjin Kim has been named the university’s first chief nuclear officer. Purdue said Kim will strategically guide the university’s nuclear portfolio and activities — including engagements with industry and national laboratories — and will oversee research efforts such as advancing nuclear manufacturing, demonstrating an advanced reactor in an operational environment, developing digital twin technology and preparing the next generation of nuclear engineers.

Purdue’s release says Kim is the Capt. James F. McCarthy, Jr. and Cheryl E. McCarthy Head of the School of Nuclear Engineering and director of Purdue University Reactor Number One (PUR-1). The announcement notes his expertise in reactor thermal hydraulics, reactor safety and two-phase flow, that he has been at Purdue for more than three decades, that he has chaired the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency’s Global Forum on Nuclear Education, Science, Technology and Policy and advised the U.S. Department of Energy, and that he led a study for the Indiana Office of Energy Development on potential small modular reactor impacts.

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