The two chief scientists for the Department of Energy’s Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF) program both chose to pursue nuclear research early in their careers, but they did so in different ways.

Brenden Heidrich, NSUF’s chief irradiation scientist, has always been interested in technology. Growing up, he was into cars and stereos. After joining the navy, Heidrich operated naval nuclear reactors for six years before going to college, working on the USS Enterprise for four years, saying his time in the Navy was a “strong impetus to get into nuclear.”

Meanwhile, Simon Pimblott, NSUF’s chief post-irradiation scientist, forecasted his future at a young age. “At five years old, I told my mother I wanted to go to Oxford and be a scientist,” he said. Pimblott’s interest in science was sparked by a TV show about a pathologist, called “The Scientist.” He was only reminded of his childhood prediction by his mother when he was awarded a scholarship to St. Peter’s College at the University of Oxford. 

Helping people, learning and science

Heidrich, like Pimblott, did mostly technical work throughout his career. For most of Heidrich’s career, he taught and led research at Pennsylvania State University. But it was time for a change of pace. He joined NSUF five years ago and now helps manage user facility applications and connects applicants with the best irradiation facilities. It is still technical work, but it is more about guiding other researchers. “I really like helping people get things done,” Heidrich said.

Pimblott originally intended to only stay in the U.S. for a couple of years when he joined the faculty at the University of Notre Dame, but he married an “Iowa farm girl” and the rest is history. Except for a decade spent back in the U.K. at the University of Manchester as a chaired professor and the director of the Dalton Cumbrian Facility, a joint initiative by the university and the U.K.’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority to address the decommissioning and radiation science challenges of the country’s nuclear industry, he has spent his career in the U.S. 

While always intending to return to the U.S., Pimblott and his wife thought they would end up where their children settled, Nashville or Cleveland. Then the NSUF opportunity at Idaho National Laboratory popped up. He accepted it and hasn’t looked back since. “This job combines my biggest interests: learning and science.”

The cynic and the optimist

In Pimblott’s personal life, he is a bit of a cynic. But he said that helps him be happy when things go well. “No good deed goes unpunished,” he jested. “If you don’t expect good things, then you aren’t surprised when bad things happen. It’s the opposite for optimists, all you have to look forward towards is disappointment.” Rather than being upset, Pimblott practically shrugged when his younger daughter dropped an engraved Waterford Crystal bowl presented to him as part of his prize for winning the 1999 Fry Award for the best radiation researcher under age 40. 

Heidrich, more of a cup-half-full person, is enthralled by financier Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s nonfiction book “Black Swan.” The book focuses around highly improbable and unforeseen events that have large effects, such as the massive earthquake in 2011 that damaged the Fukushima Daiichi power plants, or the 2008 financial crisis in the U.S. These rare events can shift whole industries, and we should be prepared to roll with them.

The positive black swan is, to Heidrich, the essence of what NSUF aims to enable. “I’m pretty sure black swans — things that are wildly unpredictable such as the iPhone’s creation — exist in advanced nuclear technology,” he said. “That’s precisely what we’re trying to do by offering access to user facilities. The best way to foster good research is to fund it and let it flourish.” The sentiment of Taleb’s book is in the back of Heidrich’s mind when evaluating NSUF applications. “There will always be those who are awarded and those who are not,” he said. “The question is: How do we help them carry out their mission?”

Careers well spent

Most Oxford chemistry undergraduate students don’t go on to be chemists. In fact, Pimblott says, most often they become accountants. But not Pimblott. He wanted to become a chemist, so he turned down accountancy job offers and enrolled in the Oxford chemistry doctorate program. Pimblott’s entire career has been spent in science and that’s exactly how he likes it. “I genuinely enjoy what I’m doing. I love science,” he said.  “My dad used to joke I didn’t have a job because I’ve always loved going to work.”

Heidrich, too, is happy to have been in science his whole career. He now hopes to expand the number of students who enter the pipeline to national labs, such as INL. In recent years, Heidrich’s been working with some colleges, including his alma mater for three energy engineering degrees, Pennsylvania State University. That work is an extension of his love for enabling. “I’m all about lifting up the next generation of engineers and scientists,” Heidrich said.