121st Engineer Regiment Commander Receives Engineer of the Year Award

By CPT (MDDF) Stephen Rice
Maryland Defense Force Public Affairs
February 25, 2012

On February 23, 2012 Dr. Steven A. Arndt, commander of the Maryland Defense Force’s (MDDF) 121st Engineer Regiment received the federal government’s Engineer of the Year Award by the National Society of Professional Engineers. Col. (MDDF) Arndt is a senior technical advisor in the Office of the Nuclear Reactor Regulation at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). He has held that post since 2007 and has more than 30 years of professional experience as a nuclear engineer, the last 24 of which with the federal government.

Col. (MDDF) Arndt has also served as a professor of nuclear engineering which includes a stint at the United States Naval Academy, and was appointed to the Maryland State Board of Engineering by the Governor of Maryland in 2006 and currently serves as the Board’s Vice Chairman. During the Fukushima, Japan nuclear power plant incident Dr. Arndt responded to the NRC Operation Center and supported the Japanese government as well as the U.S. Ambassador to Japan in his role as a severe accident analyst. Col. (MDDF) Arndt continues to support the NRC – Japan lessons learned initiatives and is involved in the screening of recommendations for U.S. nuclear power plants.

“Dr. Steven Arndt is an outstanding professional, who has made substantial contributions to the work of the NRC over many years,” said NRC Chairman Jaczko. “I congratulate him on being named Federal Engineer of the Year, which is a great honor and well-deserved recognition for Dr. Arndt. We are proud that he is part of the NRC staff.” This award is the only one of its kind to solely recognize outstanding engineers employed in the federal government.

When asked about the recognition received on Thursday, February 23, at a ceremony at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, Dr. Arndt said, “I’ve devoted my professional life to nuclear engineering and I’ve enjoyed the opportunities to make contributions. I’m honored to receive this award.”

The Maryland Defense Force (MDDF) is the State’s uniformed volunteer military unit providing professional and technical assistance to the Maryland Military Department. Established in 1917, the MDDF consists of nearly 450 personnel who perform legal, engineering, finance, medical, chaplain, field support and ceremonial services for the State of Maryland. For more information: http://mddf.maryland.gov.