An offer to skip history class in highschool to listen to a Navy ROTC recruiter sent Todd Allen on a serendipitousjourney that led to him becoming one of the top U.S. experts in nuclear energy,with focus on the material science of nuclear systems. 

Todd beganhis professional career as a submarine officer in the U.S. Navy where helearned the practical applications of operating a nuclear power plant as wellas how to take a submarine to periscope depth. Following active duty, he builton that practical Navy experience by earning a Ph.D. in nuclear engineeringwith specific focus on how radiation changes the physical properties of metals.

His first post-Ph.D. position was as astaff scientist at Argonne National Laboratory. While at Argonne, he joined theleadership team tasked with developing the Generation IV Roadmap, the documentthat framed the resurgence of the nuclear research programs early in the 21st Century.

FollowingArgonne, he joined the faculty at the University of Wisconsin. While there, hesplit his time between establishing a premier material science program at theuniversity and supporting the Idaho National Laboratory. At INL, he led thetransition of the Advanced Test Reactor into a national user facility, creatinga unique distributed network of national research facilities working togetherto support novel research ideas brought by universities and private industry.He also ran a six-institution Energy Frontier Research Center focused onanswering fundamental questions about heat transfer in nuclear fuel.

From2013-2016, he helped lead the Idaho National Laboratory as the DeputyLaboratory Director for Science & Technology, including being an importantcontributor to the development of the Gateway for Accelerated Innovation inNuclear (GAIN) initiative announced at the White House in November 2015.

He is theauthor of over 200 technical publications, many of which are readable.

Todd hasdegrees in nuclear engineering and management information systems. He is anative of Michigan and tries very hard to find ways to watch baseball. His bestsummer ever (2016) was 64 different stadiums across the U.S.