Dr. Dale E. Klein rejoined The University of Texas at Austin in September of 2022, after serving eight and a half years as Presidential Appointee. Dr. Klein also served as the Associate Vice Chancellor for research at The University of Texas System from January 2011 through August 2022. Dr. Klein was sworn into the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2006, and was appointed Chairman by President George W. Bush, serving in that role from July 2006 to May 2009. As Chairman, Dr. Klein was the principal executive officer and official spokesman for the NRC, responsible for conducting the administrative, organizational, long-range planning, budgetary, and certain personnel functions of the agency. Additionally, he had the ultimate authority for all NRC functions pertaining to an emergency involving an NRC licensee. The remainder of this term was as Commissioner of the NRC from May 2009 to March 2010.

Before joining the NRC, Dr. Klein served as the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defense Programs. He was appointed to this position by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the Senate in 2001. In this position, he served as the principal staff assistant and advisor to the Secretary of Defense, Deputy Secretary of Defense, and the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology for all policy and planning matters related to nuclear weapons and nuclear, chemical, and biological defense.

Previously, Dr. Klein served as the Vice-Chancellor for Special Engineering Programs at The University of Texas System and as a Professor in the Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering (Nuclear Program) at The University of Texas at Austin. During his tenure at the university, Dr. Klein was Director of the Nuclear Engineering Teaching Laboratory, Deputy Director of the Center for Energy Studies, and Associate Dean for Research and Administration in the College of Engineering.

Honors and awards Dr. Klein has received include Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the American Nuclear Society, Engineer of the Year for the State of Texas, the University of Missouri Faculty-Alumni Award, and the University of Missouri Honor Award for Distinguished Service in Engineering.

A native of Missouri, Dr. Klein holds a doctorate in nuclear engineering from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He has published more than 100 technical papers and reports, and co-edited one book. He has made more than 400 presentations on energy and has written numerous technical editorials on energy issues that have been published in major newspapers throughout the United States.

In addition to his academic assignments, Dr. Klein serves on the Board of two publicly traded companies: the Southern Company and the Board of Pinnacle West/Arizona Public Service Company. He also serves on the Committee for Nuclear Power in the United Arab Emirates and chairs the Nuclear Reform Monitoring Committee for the Tokyo Electric Power Company following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident. Dr. Klein also serves on the Boards of two private companies: AVANTech and LATA (Los Alamos Technical Associates).

Most Recent Publications

1. D. Klein, C. Eric Triplett and R.E. Canaan, "A Comparison of Natural Convection Heat Transfer for a Staggered Versus an Aligned Array of Horizontal Spent Nuclear Fuel Rods Within a Rectangular," Nuclear Technology, Vol. 130, (August 1999), 1, pp. 99-110
2. D. Klein and R.E. Canaan, "A Numerical Investigation of Natural Convection Heat Transfer Within Horizontal Spent-Fuel Assemblies," Nuclear Technology, Vol. 123, (August 1998), 2, pp. 193
3. D. Klein, J. D. McWhirter, M.E. Crawford, and T. L. Sanders, "Model for Inertialess Magnetohydrodynamic Flow in Packed Beds," Fusion Technology, Vol. 33, (January 1998), 1, pp. 22-30
4. D. Klein, J.D. McWhirter and M.E. Crawford, "Liquid to Gas Differential Pressure Transmitter with Small Hydrostatic Error," Review Of Scientific Instruments, Vol. 68, (December 1997), 12
5. D. Klein and R.E. Canaan, "An Experimental Investigation of Natural Convection Heat Transfer within Horizontal Spent-Fuel Assemblies," Nuclear Technology, Vol. 116, (December 1996), 3, pp. 306-318
6. D. Klein and R. E. Canaan, "Measuring Thermal Properties of Spent Nuclear Fuel," Measurements & Control, (October 1995), 173, pp. 112-123
7. D. Klein, S. P. Burns and J. R. Howell, "Empirical Evaluation of an Important Approximation for Combined-Mode Heat Transfer in a Participating Medium Using the Finite-Element Method," Numerical Heat Transfer, Part B, Vol. 27, (May 1995), pp. 309-322
8. D. Klein and S. J. Manson, "The Benchmarking of a Homogeneous Equilibrium Model for Analysis of Spent-Fuel Shipping Containers," Nuclear Technology, Vol. 108, (December 1994), 3, pp. 379-386
9. D. Klein, D. A. Aliaga and J. P. Lamb, "Convection Heat Transfer Distributions over Plates with Square Ribs from Infrared Thermography Measurements," International Journal Of Heat And Mass Transfer, Vol. 37, (February 1994), 3, pp. 363-374
10. D. Klein, A. H. W. Lee and J. P. Lamb, "Constant Flux, Turbulent Convection Data Using Infrared Imaging," International Journal Of Heat And Mass Transfer, Vol. 37, (February 1994), 3, pp. 535-539