Amy Halloran is the director of Sandia National Laboratories’ R&D programs in the nuclear energy fuel cycle and grid modernization. She leads Sandia’s 300+ researchers who perform fundamental and applied R&D to create a safe, secure, and resilient energy future for the nation. The research focuses on developing an advanced electric grid with reliable resources and storage; enhancing the safety, security, safeguards, and economic viability of nuclear energy; and advancing the science and engineering of nuclear waste management. Previously, as senior manager of renewable energy technologies, Halloran led Sandia’s R&D programs in wind energy, solar energy, water power, geothermal energy and the water/energy nexus to improve the reliability, reduce the cost, and decrease the regulatory burden of renewable energy and water supplies. Halloran’s started her career at Sandia as manager of the geophysics and atmospheric science department, a team developing leading-edge technical solutions for the Department of Energy (DOE), the Department of Defense (DOD), and industrial customers in nuclear threat detection, climate measurement, and oil and gas extraction. She also oversaw Sandia’s work on the North Slope of Alaska for DOE’s climate program.
Prior to joining Sandia, Halloran was with CH2M HILL for 22 years, finishing her tenure as vice president of federal program development. She and her teams delivered projects in contaminated soil and groundwater investigation and remediation, industrial waste treatment, compliance audits, and energy efficiency for the DoD, DOE, the Environmental Protection Agency, and private industry.
Halloran has a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion and received the New Mexico Technology Council’s annual Women in Technology Award in 2019. She is Sandia’s campus executive for the University of Illinois; a past president of both the New Mexico Engineering Foundation and the Society of American Military Engineers, Albuquerque Post; and a former community panel chair for the United Way of Central New Mexico. Halloran earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Virginia Tech and a master’s degree in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has been licensed as a professional engineer since 1994.