JOSEPH M. HENDRIE (1925-2023)

BY ROBERT A. BARI¹
SUBMITTED BY THE NAE HOME SECRETARY

To those of us who knew Joe, even prior to his appointment as chair of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, it is an understatement to say that he was a larger-than-life member of the nuclear science and technology enterprise. He was best known to the broader community for two major accomplishments: the design and construction of the High Flux Beam Reactor (HFBR) at Brookhaven National Laboratory and the creation of the standard review plan (SRP) for the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.

In addition to the products of these endeavors becoming major fundaments to their respective communities, they were uniquely Joe. The safety analysis report for the HFBR was written essentially single-handedly by him. This was true of the SRP as well, which became the key safety review document for the NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) as it performed safety reviews for the growing number of power reactor applications in the United States. His deep technical knowledge of nuclear engineering and his extraordinary management skills made this possible.

Joe’s early days at BNL were devoted to developing advanced nuclear and nonnuclear concepts and devices during the 1950s and 1960s. These ranged from pulsed fast reactors to concrete pressure vessels. As U.S. funding priorities changed during those years, so too did the programs at BNL. The loss of these programs brought tears to Joe’s eyes, but it also led him to focus more broadly on areas with funding opportunities. It was a time when energy generation and use were becoming more prominent to the nation — and indeed, to the world.

During the same period, because of his proximity to Long Island’s surrounding water, Joe perfected his skills as an accomplished recreational sailor at the Bellport Bay Yacht Club. He was an avid Thistle (a high-performance, one-design racing sailboat) sailor. He sailed the Kelpie #617 in the Bellport Thistle fleet, where the competition was keen and the banter among competitors — spirited by Joe — was always witty. Because of his natural leadership abilities, he served as commodore of the yacht club in 1966 and 1967, where he is still affectionately remembered. Upon learning of his death, his fellow sailors there have wished him “fair winds and following seas.”

(Joe was not the only famous nuclear scientist to sail Long Island waters. Albert Einstein sailed on the Peconic Bay in 1939 while vacationing on the north fork in Cutchogue.)

The HFBR, which was in operation at BNL from 1965 to 1996, provided very intense external beams of thermal neutrons. Accordingly, thousands of researchers in the materials and life sciences benefited from Joe’s invention. The reactor became a machine to emulate and, indeed, the high flux reactor at the Institut Laue-Langevin in Grenoble, France, is based on his HFBR design.

Joe devoted his abilities as a reactor physicist, engineer, and administrator to the development of this reactor from 1958 to 1965. As the leader of this effort at BNL, he performed key engineering analyses and made important design decisions. He also conducted the safety analysis and wrote the final safety analysis report and then defended it before the appropriate regulatory authorities. In Making Physics,² a book on the early history of BNL, author Robert Crease describes Joe as the J. Robert Oppenheimer of the HFBR. Crease remarked that Joe combined a deep appreciation of engineering, a thorough knowledge of physics, and the ability to motivate and inspire his team. While the patent for the HFBR names five coinventors (one of them being Herb Kouts [NAE 1978]), it was declared openly at BNL that it was Joe’s reactor. In 1988, the American Nuclear Society named the HFBR a Nuclear Historic Landmark, in part for the “elegant simplicity of its design” which “contributed to the HFBR’s record of high availability and long, useful life.”

The reactor was shut down after a small amount of tritium, which posed no health risk, was detected in the groundwater on the site. The tritium was traced to the spent fuel pool of the reactor, which did not have a steel liner. Joe had commented to me and to others that he wanted to install a liner, but the funding was not available for this design feature when he was involved with the design and construction.

Joe’s first major accomplishment for the AEC was the development of the SRP during the period 1972-74 for the licensing of commercial nuclear power plants. The SRP and the technical excellence of the regulatory staff are lasting testimonies to his pioneering influence. Roger Mattson, a former senior manager at the NRC, noted that he watched in awe as Joe oversaw the drafting of detailed specifications for technical review of license applications that became the SRP, writing many of the sections himself when his technical subordinates were not up to the task and personally editing the lot. That significant effort has stood the test of time and has served the nation well. AEC chair Dixie Lee Ray lauded Joe when he completed his term in 1974 as deputy director for technical review at the commission: “Your dedication to the public interest, your leadership, and your sound judgment are held in high esteem by all with whom you have been associated in the Atomic Energy Commission.” Ray further noted, “Not only have you personally provided highly regarded guidance in developing positions and policies concerning urgent safety issues, but you have also demonstrated outstanding managerial talents in substantially upgrading efficiency and competence in the technical review area in the regulatory process.”

Another senior NRC manager from that era, Robert Budnitz (NAE 2017), noted that one of the most important documents that Joe wrote (or supervised the writing of) was WASH-1250. This overarching document explained to the public how power reactors were designed and regulated to ensure that they were safe. WASH-1250 was issued first in draft form and then later as a “final draft,” but it was never finalized. It ultimately led to the writing of the standard review plan.

WASH-1250 was one of Joe’s most stellar accomplishments, according to Budnitz. The fact that the document was never issued in final form was due to controversies among the NRC commissioners as to whether they wanted to formally endorse some of the practices and decisions that WASH-1250 documented.

Joe served as commissioner and chair of the NRC from 1977 to 1981. This was a challenging period for him, the nation, and the world. The accident at Three Mile Island’s Unit 2 received wide media attention and was a source of serious public concern. In the now-distant view of that event, it can be said that Joe proceeded in a cautious and deliberate manner to ensure that appropriate actions were taken to ameliorate the ensuing events. Roger Mattson noted that Joe was in the thick of things throughout the response to events at TMI, as most people knew. He further explained that he, Joe, and the rest of the NRC staff who went to TMI were exhausted by the time they returned to their offices in Bethesda, Maryland. They had little time to rest, as Congress and the White House began hearings into the matter in the summer of 1979. That fall, they had to respond to recommendations in a major report by the Kemeny Commission on reforms for the nuclear enterprise. Accordingly, the NRC staff who developed the response did not sleep for three days while they drafted their responses. According to Mattson, Joe did not sleep for those three days either. He checked on the team’s work every few hours around the clock to see how they were doing and to offer encouragement. He did not tell them what to say or do — he just made sure they kept going and stayed positive. He was a true leader.

Another senior manager at the NRC, Ashok Thadani, remarked that Joe was a very accomplished person. Thadani had the opportunity to work with him soon after he joined the agency and then again during and after the accident at TMI. He said that Joe was a true gentleman and safety focused.

Joe served as president of ANS in 1984-85, providing inspired leadership to the Society at a critical time. He represented ANS well in the world arena of other nuclear organizations, bringing stature and knowledge to all those who sought direction on the future developments in the nuclear enterprise. Thanks to his efforts, nuclear technology faces a vibrant future in areas of medical technology, industrial applications, and power generation.

Joe was also the recipient of several awards and prizes. Among numerous fellowships and honors, he received the AEC’s E. O. Lawrence Award in 1970 for his outstanding contributions to the physics and engineering of versatile research reactors and for important contributions and recognized leadership in promoting the safety of large power reactors. Joe was made a Commander of the Order of Leopold II by King Baudouin of Belgium in 1982 in recognition of his contributions to the furtherance of friendship between Belgium and the United States. He also was the 1998 recipient of ANS’s George C. Laurence Pioneering Award for having made outstanding pioneering contributions to the field of nuclear safety. To reaffirm his eminent status in the nuclear technology arena and his outstanding service in developing and guiding the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, ANS (jointly with the Nuclear Energy Institute) bestowed on him in 1994 the Henry DeWolf Smyth Nuclear Statesman Award for statesmanlike contributions to the many aspects of nuclear energy.

Joe was also a long-term member of the National Academy of Engineering and served there in various technical capacities. He was an ANS Fellow and a registered professional engineer in New York and California. He served on the board of directors of electric utility companies with nuclear power programs as well as numerous advisory groups and committees to government and industry.

Upon completing his term at the NRC in 1981, he returned to BNL as a senior scientist to pursue research interests and to advise others worldwide on developments in nuclear technology. In the late 1990s, I had the privilege of being chair of the department Joe had once led. Whenever I commiserated with him on challenges that I had with the government officials in Washington, D.C., who he knew from his time, Joe would typically say to me, “Relax, they will be gone soon.” I was honored to host a celebratory event at BNL with our staff for his retirement in 1996, at which we congratulated him for a career well done.

Joe stayed active in the Long Island section of ANS over the past few years, where he supplied wise input, clever wit, and endless charm during our monthly meetings. We are fortunate to have benefitted from his wisdom, kindness, and advice up until his last days. He will be missed.

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¹Robert A. Bari is a senior scientist emeritus at Brookhaven National Laboratory and an ANS Fellow. This tribute first appeared in ANS Nuclear News, March 2024, and is reprinted with permission.
²Crease RP. 2000. Making Physics: A Biography of Brookhaven National Laboratory, 1946-1972. University of Chicago Press.