NRU Team Profiles

David CoxHélène HébertGina StratiIan MuirTed MorytoBill PilkingtonTina ShorterJohn ArnoldJohn LeeRandy LescoCal DoucetteMike DeVerno________________________________________________________________

David Cox

David Cox is the Director, NRU Vessel Repair Project.

David has over 25 years experience in the nuclear industry, and has worked on a variety of projects including those related to nuclear fuel, fuel cycles and waste management.  In his current role, he is bringing all of his professional expertise to bear to enable AECL to return the National Research Universal (NRU) reactor to service as safely and as quickly as possible. 

After starting his career at AECL as a research engineer in the Fuel Safety Branch, David became the manager of the Fuel Development Branch. Subsequently he moved into the project management field, before becoming a director and managing a number of projects in Waste Management and Decommissioning. 

Most recently, David was the Senior Director of Research and Technology Operations Projects (RTOP) responsible for the project management system, and the planning and execution, of large project portfolios at the Chalk River Laboratories site.

David holds both Bachelor and Master degrees of Materials Engineering Science (B.E.Sc. / M.E.Sc.) from the University of Western Ontario.

Hélène Hébert is a Research Scientist in the Inspection, Monitoring & Dynamics Branch at AECL’s Chalk River Laboratories.  AECL’s Inspection, Monitoring & Dynamics Branch is responsible for the development and design of solutions, products and services used to perform nuclear power plant inspections and vibration testing and to determine the detection of wear problems.

A resident of Deep River, Hélène began her career at AECL in 2005.  Hélène has travelled to CANDU® nuclear stations around the world developing innovative inspection tools to conduct non-destructive inspections of CANDU reactors worldwide. These inspections help ensure the continued safe operation of AECL’s global reactors.

Hélène holds a Masters of Science (M.Sc.) degree in Energy and Materials Sciences from INRS-EMT at Université du Québec and a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Physics (B.Sc. Eng.) from Université Laval.  The topic of her Masters of Science is laser-ultrasonic.

Hélène enjoys canoeing and camping and considers herself very lucky to live in the area surrounding Chalk River Laboratories with its abundance of parks and lakes. 

Gina Strati

Gina Strati is the Manager of AECL’s Mechanical Equipment Development Branch, assisting in the NRU Return to Service Project. 

Gina has more than seven years experience with AECL, and has been involved in the management of trademark projects, including the Emergency Core Cooling (ECC) Strainers™ designed for nuclear power plants, as well as tooling projects for internal AECL departments and external customers.  In her current role, she is bringing her experience in project management to assist in returning the National Research Universal (NRU) reactor to service as safely and as quickly as possible. 

Gina and her Mechanical Equipment Development Branch team were tasked with developing the Non-Destructive Examination (NDE) tooling used to inspect the NRU reactor vessel. As all inspection activities are performed remotely, from a great distance (9 metres) and through small openings (6-12 cm in diameter) and long, narrow channels, the design of an inspection tool was no easy feat.  Gina’s team successfully designed, assembled and tested the Mark I and II tooling and subsequently trained the tool handlers on its proper use. 

Gina holds a PhD in Physical Chemistry from the University of New Orleans, and BSc Chemistry from McGill University.

Ian Muir

Ian Muir is the Manager of the Reactor Chemistry & Corrosion Branch at AECL – Chalk River Laboratories. 

Ian has 16 years of experience working in the nuclear industry including 12 years as a Research Scientist at Whiteshell Laboratories in Pinawa, Manitoba and Chalk River Laboratories in Chalk River, Ontario.  In his current role, Ian is applying his expertise to help the AECL team return the National Research Universal (NRU) reactor to service as safely and as quickly as possible.

Ian holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Western Ontario.

A resident of Deep River, Ian understands the impact Chalk River Laboratories and the successful restart of NRU has on his community.  Ian enjoys spending time with family and friends, playing golf, hockey and coaching in the local minor hockey association. 

Ted Moryto

Ted Moryto is Project Leader, Tooling and Mock-ups.

Ted is responsible for the delivery of tools in support of annulus cleaning, vessel vacuuming and NRU vessel sampling.  This includes reviewing tool designs, thoroughly testing them to ensure compliance to specifications, and managing external suppliers to make certain that AECL requirements are met within the required schedule.

Ted is also leading efforts to develop mock-up facilities at Chalk River to test these tools and provide personnel with training. This will allow for the safe and competent completion of required tasks on the NRU reactor.

A professional engineer, Ted attained a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Toronto and is a designated Project Management Professional. He was an AECL summer student at Chalk River in 1984 and returned to the company in 2007. Ted brought with him 10 years of experience managing large tooling projects for clients in various manufacturing industries, including automotive, medical and electronics.

Prior to his recruitment to the NRU return-to-service team, Ted was a Project Leader in the Buildings and Infrastructure group. This included leading infrastructure renewal projects at Chalk River to upgrade potable water, sanitary sewage, and active drain systems.

A resident of Pembroke, Ted is married with two children and enjoys road cycling and home improvement.

Bill Pilkington

Bill Pilkington is Senior Vice-President & Chief Nuclear Officer responsible for AECL’s Research and Technology Operations division.

In this role, Bill ensures excellence in nuclear operations and a focus on health, safety,  and the environment are sustained; the company’s waste management and decommissioning activities remain safe and effective; an environment for research and development excellence is nurtured; and strong communications with the surrounding communities, customers, regulators and other key stakeholders are maintained.

With more than 25 years of experience in nuclear operations, Bill’s focus now is ensuring that the NRU at Chalk River is safely and expeditiously returned to service. In addition to directing the comprehensive efforts taking place on site to achieve this goal, Bill has been a key spokesperson on the subject, providing updates at CNSC public meetings, addressing the House of Commons Standing Committee on Natural Resources and updating the media and public on the NRU’s repair requirements and return-to-service schedule.

Bill began his career with Ontario Hydro at the Pickering Generating Station in 1978 before joining New Brunswick Power for the commissioning of the Point Lepreau Generating Station, holding several senior positions, including Station Manager and Site Director. Bill later became Director, Performance Improvement and Strategic Initiatives at NB Power Nuclear and was most recently Director of Products, Inspections and Field Services with AECL’s CANDU Services business.

A native of British Columbia, Bill has a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Waterloo and is the father of two adult children.

Tina Shorter

Tina Shorter is Manager of Operations Resourcing and Training at AECL’s Chalk River Laboratories.

Tina is responsible for managing the development and implementation of staffing and training for nuclear and non-nuclear facilities within the Operations division. This includes operations and maintenance training, operations and maintenance resourcing and CNSC certification of NRU senior reactor shift engineers.

The Resourcing and Training team is supporting the development and execution of training for the non-destructive examination of the NRU and subsequent return-to-service work.  Training and resourcing plans are developed to ensure that staff members have the skills and knowledge to safely and successfully complete the work.  Many of the tools developed for this effort are first-of-a-kind and to ensure safe and efficient use, require coordination and training of multi-disciplinary teams.   

Tina joined AECL 18 years ago to provide sign language interpretation for a hearing-impaired employee in the Fuel Fabrication branch. Since then, she has supported training as a training consultant with the Organizational Development and Training group and was Training Manager for the Dedicated Isotopes Facilities before moving into her current role. 

Tina attained a Bachelor of Education/Bachelor of Arts (Psychology, Linguistics) from Queen’s University in 1981 and worked several years teaching in the school system prior to joining AECL. She lives just outside of Deep River along the Ottawa River and feels fortunate to live in a location that has allowed her and her husband to raise two happy, healthy daughters and to enjoy all that the area has to offer, including boating, water-skiing, snow-skiing and hiking. 

John Arnold

John Arnold is the NRU Facility Manager (initial Director of the NRU Return to Service Project).

John is responsible for managing the development of the procedures and processes to support the safe, efficient and reliable return of the NRU reactor to full power operation. This activity requires direct interface with the operations, maintenance, physics, safety and licensing groups, in addition to Vessel Leak Repair Project efforts and the CNSC.

The return-to-service team is supporting the development and execution of the field procedures associated with the reactor heavy water fill, component and fuel re-load and reactor start-up to high power. These procedures include systematic component and system verifications through a rigorous process and a fully auditable trail of work completed.

John joined AECL 21 years ago as an operations engineer with the NRU reactor facility. Since then, he has assumed many NRU-related roles, including shift engineer, facility manager, training development manager, engineering manager and special projects manager involved with NRU re-licensing in 2006. He is certified by the CNSC as a senior reactor shift engineer licensed to operate the reactor.

In 1991, John was involved in the development of procedures associated with NRU start-up from a fully de-fuelled state.  He is excited by the energy, support and commitment of all personnel who are working with a single focus to return the NRU to safe operation. 

John attained a Bachelor of Applied Science (Mechanical Engineering) degree from the University of Ottawa in 1979 and worked nine years in the oil industry prior to joining AECL. He lives in Deep River where he and his wife raised three children in a unique setting where they experience the joys of nature, the abundance of excellent sporting facilities and the safety of a small community atmosphere.

John Lee is Director of the Technical Support Unit and the NRU Extended Activities Project.

This includes providing oversight to the completion of NRU project activities that will enhance the overall reliability of NRU operations. This work, managed by a specialized team, is independent of the return-to-service efforts and is being undertaken at this time to effectively and efficiently make the improvements while the reactor is down.

A 21-year veteran of the Chalk River Laboratories, John joined AECL as an NRU operations engineer and worked in various support roles before becoming qualified as a senior reactor shift engineer in 1997. 

Since then, John has held several nuclear operations-related positions, including Manager of Operations for the MAPLE reactors; Manager, Technical Support Unit for the Dedicated Isotope Facilities (DIF); Director of DIF Operations; and the initiation of the operations reliability program for the Isotope Supply Reliability Program.

“I recognize the importance of returning the NRU to service,” John says. “Not just for the local community but also for the health of Canadians and others around the world that need medical isotopes.”

John holds a Chemical Engineering degree from the Technical University of Nova Scotia and is a designated professional engineer in Ontario.

A resident of Deep River, he enjoys travelling and golfing in his spare time.

Randy Lesco is General Manager, Engineering & Projects and Chief Nuclear Engineer for AECL’s Research and Technology Operations.

With more than 25 years experience in the nuclear industry, Randy provides technical direction to ensure the NRU reactor is returned to service in a safe and expeditious manner.

Randy began his career with AECL’s CANDU Reactor Division working on major CANDU projects.  At AECL’s Chalk River Laboratories, Randy has held a number of engineering, project management and management positions.

Randy has a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Toronto and is a member of the Professional Engineers of Ontario.

Cal Doucette works as a Mechanical Design Engineer at Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL).

Cal’s main role in the NRU Return to Service Project is to oversee competing priorities in developing weld strategies for each unique weld repair conducted on the reactor vessel.  This includes ensuring that the engineering and welding teams have taken every step to ensure that the weld repair strategy applied has minimal impact on the reactor vessel and does not compromise the NRU’s successful return to service.

With experience in the chemical, petrochemical, metallurgical and wood products industries, Cal joined the nuclear industry seven years ago as a process design engineer with AECL.  Cal’s time at Chalk River Laboratories has been spent in the process and mechanical engineering branch providing engineering and project management support to site facilities and commercial projects. He is a section head involved in process improvements and mentoring junior staff.

A Chemical Engineering grad of McGill University, Cal works alongside many other like-minded engineers who are working to return the NRU to service as quickly and safely as possible.  “If the NRU repair is not successful, the world suffers,” says Cal.  “That’s why our work here is so critical, not just to us, but to the millions of people who rely on the NRU around the world.”

In his spare time, Cal enjoys skeet shooting or a good science fiction novel, but his favourite hobby is spending time with his wife and two daughters.   

Mike DeVerno

Mike DeVerno is the Director, NRU Return to Service Project (current) and throughout the repair of the vessel has been the Deputy Director of the Vessel Leak Repair Project.  Mike takes over from John Arnold who has now moved into the position of the NRU Facility Manager.

Mike has close to 30 years of experience in the nuclear industry and has worked on a variety of initiatives spanning nuclear engineering, design and construction; reactor research and product development; and operations technical support.  In his current role, Mike is applying his experience to safely return the NRU reactor to full power operation and isotope production.

Mike started his career in the development of instrumentation and control systems for process industries.  He joined AECL in 1982 where he spent his first years as a research engineer in non-destructive testing and development; and then reactor systems and simulation.  Mike has since held a number of managerial and project management positions across the AECL organization and in private industry.

Most recently, Mike has held senior positions in Operations Support, the Technical Support Unit and various Projects involving the NRU reactor, including the past installation of the DC Motor Starters and the U1 Loop Return to Service.

Mike currently lives south of Ottawa on a hobby farm in Mountain, Ontario that dates back to the early 1800’s. His hobbies include the family’s horses, dogs, cats, and farm fowl, as well as a lengthy to-do list of chores and repairs, and occasionally a good book or two. Mike holds a Bachelor Degree in Engineering Science (Electrical Option) from the University of Toronto and has two adult children who are successful in their own careers.