Les Hill arrived at PPPL just as a $26 million, 10-to-15 year project to overhaul the Laboratory’s infrastructure was speeding into its second phase, and he jumped right in. He has quickly taken charge of the requirements, deadlines, decisions, and reviews that are all part of the work, technically known as the Infrastructure Operations Improvement Project.

Hill holds a bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnique Institute and shepherded much larger and more difficult efforts before joining PPPL. He most recently worked at Brookhaven National Laboratory on jobs ranging from directing a $300 million environmental restoration project to decommissioning that laboratory’s synchrotron accelerator facility. He previously worked at the New York Power Authority, where he oversaw decommissioning of the Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant on Long Island and directed the turnaround and restart of the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant in White Plains, New York.

Hill feels quite at home at PPPL. “I remember vividly the allure and promise of fusion energy when I was in college,” he recalls. “The research mission here is closer to my wheelhouse, so in many respect it’s bringing me back to those roots.”