Monica C. Regalbuto, ND Ph.D. ’89 (chemical engineering) will receive the 2023 Notre Dame Distinguished Graduate Alumni Award, an award given annually to a graduate alumnus or alumna who has contributed significantly to scholarship, research or society.
She will be formally recognized at the Graduate School Commencement Ceremony to be held at Notre Dame Stadium on May 20.
Regalbuto is the director of Nuclear Fuel Cycle Strategy at the Idaho National Laboratory and a fellow of the American Nuclear Society. She is a leader in the development of nuclear fuel cycle technologies. She has more than 30 years of experience in radio-isotope processing, recovery and immobilization for environmental remediation, resource conservation and medical applications.
In her work, Regalbuto combines her expertise in chemical separations, modeling and simulation, and proliferation risk reduction to make a difference for our nation and its citizens. She has been a key contributor to the nuclear fuel cycle and nuclear waste management mission by developing and demonstrating innovative nuclear energy technologies that have significantly advanced the scientific, engineering, policy, and regulatory aspects of the nuclear enterprise.
She has served in multiple national leadership roles. In 2015, she was appointed by President Obama and confirmed by the Senate as Assistant Secretary for the Office of Environmental Management for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). In this capacity, she was responsible for managing the environmental cleanup resulting from weapons production as well as special nuclear materials.
As the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fuel Cycle Technologies with the DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy, Regalbuto managed the nation’s research and development fuel cycle portfolio. At Argonne National Laboratory, she served as the head of the Process Chemistry and Engineering Department in the Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division. She has authored multiple journal articles, reports, and presentations and holds six patents.
— Karla Cruise, Notre Dame Engineering