For Immediate Release
Contact: Ashley Hartman
Ashley.Hartman@ettp.doe.gov
(865) 574-7231
OAK RIDGE, Tennessee, November 15, 2016 – Kenneth J. Rueter, President and Project Manager of
URS | CH2M Oak Ridge, LLC (UCOR), has been named recipient of the prestigious 2016 Management
Division Award presented by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).
Rueter will receive the award Wednesday (November 16) at the AIChE Annual Meeting in San
Francisco.
As UCOR President and Project Manager, Rueter has led his company’s success in providing positive
solutions for large‐scale nuclear environmental cleanup, restoring once contaminated land for future
economic development purposes. UCOR is the Department of Energy’s lead cleanup contractor for the
East Tennessee Technology Park, former home of the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant.
The award presentation notes that Rueter is “living testimony to the fact that chemical engineering
can be a rewarding career that offers cutting edge opportunities in innovation and problem solving” and
adds “his experience underscores the value of the chemical engineering profession in addressing
unprecedented national technical challenges.”
While most engineers win acclaim for the enduring projects they design and build, Rueter’s most
recent noteworthy achievements stem from what he and his company are doing regarding facilities
demolition, site cleanup and environmental risk reduction. Today, across the U.S. Department of Energy
(DOE) complex, millions of gallons of liquid radioactive waste are being processed. Thousands of tons of
spent nuclear fuel and special nuclear material are being disposed. Huge quantities of contaminated soil
and water are being remediated. And thousands of excess facilities are being deactivated and
demolished. Over his 28‐year career, Rueter has been involved in leading all these areas of
environmental remediation and cleanup.
UCOR has completed these first‐of‐a‐kind demolition tasks involving some of the most hazardous
materials known to man with an unprecedented safety record – amassing more than 7 million hours
without a Lost Day Away accident and being recognized by DOE with Voluntary Protection Program Star
status, recognizing the safest worksites in the nation.
“I am honored to receive this prestigious award from AIChE,” Rueter said. “I’m also pleased to note
that the future is bright in nuclear decommissioning, cleanup, and environmental stewardship. Many
opportunities lie ahead in these important fields.”
AIChE is the world’s leading organization for chemical engineering professionals, with more than
50,000 members from over 100 countries.