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photo of flags flying on the Savannah

Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771

ENGINEERING COLLOQUIUM

Monday, November 30, 2009 / 3:30 PM, Building 3 Auditorium

Erhard Koehler

"The NS Savannah - Decommissioning and Future"

ABSTRACT -- The National Historic Landmark vessel NS (Nuclear Ship) Savannah was proposed by President Eisenhower in 1955 as a signature element of his Atoms for Peace program. Some 50+ years later the Savannah rests in Baltimore as its owner, the US Maritime Administration, works towards the regulated dismantlement and disposal of its nuclear power plant. The presentation provides an overview of the Savannah's origins and operating history, the challenges associated with managing this unique nuclear facility, and closes with a discussion of its future prospects.

SPEAKER -- Erhard Koehler works for the Maritime Administration (MARAD) of the US Department of Transportation in Washington, DC. As Manager, N.S Savannah Programs, Erhard oversees the nuclear decommissioning of the ship.is He is also responsible for the historic preservation of the Savannah, which has been designated a National Historic Landmark. He has been working with the Savannah since 1993, when he oversaw the redelivery of the ship to the Maritime Administration.

A 1987 naval architecture graduate of the State University of New York Maritime College at Fort Schuyler, Erhard came to MARAD in 1991 from the late, great Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. Erhard became a member of the American Nuclear Society in 2006, and was recently elected to the Executive Committee of the Decomissioning, Decontamination, & Reutilization Division. He is married to the former Linda Malay, herself a graduate of SUNY Maritime. They reside in the rolling hillsides of northeastern Maryland with their three children.


Engineering Colloquium home page: https://ecolloq.gsfc.nasa.gov