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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary


For Immediate Release May 24, 2000
       PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES THREE MEMBERS TO THE NUCLEAR WASTE 
                          TECHNICAL REVIEW BOARD

     The President today announced his intent to appoint Norman L.

Christensen, Jr., Paul P. Craig, and Richard Parizek to serve as Members of the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (NWTRB).

Dr. Norman L. Christensen Jr., of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, is currently a professor of ecology and Dean of the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University. Dr. Christensen has been teaching at Duke University since 1973. He has over 27 years of teaching experience and more than 80 scientific articles and books to his credit. Dr. Christensen is an ecologist whose research specializes in the effects of natural and human-caused disturbance on ecosystem structure and process. Dr. Christensen has served in a number of advisory roles to the U.S. government, including work with the Forest Service, the National Park Service, the National Science Foundation, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Dr. Christensen received an A.B. and a M.S. from Fresno State College and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Dr. Paul P. Craig, of Martinez, California, is Professor of Engineering Emeritus at the University of California at Davis and is a member of the University's Graduate Group in Ecology. He has more than 21years of teaching experience and more than 100 publications to his credit. From 1971 to 1975, Dr. Craig served as the Deputy and Acting Director of the Office of Energy Research and Development Policy, which provided policy analysis in support of the Science Advisor to the President and the Office of Management and Budget. Dr. Craig received his B.A. from Haverford College and a Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology.

Dr. Richard R. Parizek, of State College, Pennsylvania, is currently a professor of geology and geoenvironmental engineering at the Pennsylvania State University; president of Richard R. Parizek and Associates,consulting hydrogeologists and environmental geologists; and a registered Professional Geologist. He has more than 37 years of teaching experience and numerous journal publications to his credit. Over the past twenty years, he has been a member of various National Academy of Sciences panels and committees dealing with many environmental and radioactive waste issues. Dr. Parizek received his B.A. from the University of Connecticut, and his M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Illinois.

The Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (NWTRB) was established in 1987 under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act as an independent unit within the Executive Branch. In accordance with the Act, the NWTRB evaluates the technical and scientific validity of activities undertaken by the Secretary of Energy relative to the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act. This also includes site characterization and the packaging and transportation of high-level radioactive waste or spent materials.

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