Most notably
Finis was on the Corporate Advisory Board of the International Council on Systems Engineering, representing the U.S. Department of Energy.
He has authored 38 technical papers and is a trained examiner for the prestigious Baldrige National Quality Award, which recognizes organizations for excellence in leadership, planning, operations and results.
Finis earned his Senior Reactor Operator Certification at the Turkey Point Nuclear Plant.
Professional experience
Prior to his tenure as ZettaJoule’s CTO, Finis consulted for nuclear components firm BWX Technologies, nuclear reactor designer and builder Framatome, the U.S. Department of Energy, the nonprofit Electric Power Research Institute, and the government of Poland.
He has held several leadership roles at Idaho National Laboratory, which included overseeing systems science and analysis, project management for R&D, establishing and managing the Very High Temperature Gas Reactor Project for the Department of Energy, and developing processes for the Systems Engineering Directorate and the Applied Engineering Development Laboratory.
He led a $600 million project to design, fabricate, test and certify nuclear fuel and targets for the DOE’s New Production Reactor - Modular High Temperature Gas Reactor. Additionally, Finis was in charge of development and demonstration of processes for tritium target recovery as well as fabrication of production fuel.
During his tenure with Florida Power and Light, he led the work to remove the Turkey Point Nuclear Plant from the NRC watchlist, reducing reactor shutdowns from 15 per year to only one per year. He resolved pressurized thermal shock issues, extending the life of the reactor pressure vessel by more than 40 years. Subsequently, the reactor was approved to operate until 2052 – 80 years total.
During his distinguished career, Finis also served on the faculties of Idaho State University and the University of Idaho, where he created a master’s degree program in Systems Engineering. He remains an adjunct professor at both institutions.
Early in his career, Finis was an Assistant Professor of Nuclear Engineering at the University of Illinois where he helped establish a bachelor’s degree program in the field. He was a National Science Foundation Fellow during his graduate studies.
Education
Finis first earned an Associate of Science degree in math and physics from Jamestown Community College where he was named a New York State Regents Scholar.
He went on to earn a bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering Sciences, all from the University of Florida.
More about Finis
Finis has been a member of the American Nuclear Society since 1970 and was Chairman of the Florida Section from 1980 to 1983.
He has also been a member of the Canadian Association of Physicists, Sigma Xi, Tau Beta Pi and several other associations.