Terrence Tehan
Director
Atomic Energy Commission
State of Rhode Island

Appointed Forum Participant by Governor Lincoln Almond (R) in 1995

Terrence Tehan has been Director of the Rhode Island Atomic Energy Commission since 1992. His responsibilities include overall supervision and direction of the Rhode
Island Nuclear Science Center, a facility that contains a modern nuclear
research reactor and laboratories for conducting environmental, medical and materials science research. Tehan is also a member of the State Radiation Advisory Committee.

Before working for state government, Tehan was on active duty with the U.S. Navy and served as the Dean of Administration at the Naval War College, as a Deputy Senior Member of the Atlantic Fleet Nuclear Power Examining Board, as a Deputy Squadron Commander of a submarine squadron, and as a Commanding Officer of the USS Providence. Prior to these positions, he served in a number of supervisory roles on nuclear fast attack and ballistic missile submarines.

Tehan received a bachelor’s degree in naval engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy. He has earned three master’s degrees—in operations research from the Naval Postgraduate School, in computer science from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College. He also holds a doctorate in humanities with a concentration in technology from Salve Regina University. He has supplemented his degrees with additional courses from the Naval Nuclear Power School, the Trident Reactor Design School, the Harvard School of Public Health, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

He has been a Boy Scout Master and is Past President of the Providence Maritime Foundation.

Tehan’s publications include his Ph.D. dissertation, entitled “The Radioactive Waste Debate in the United States and Nuclear Technology for Peaceful Purposes; a master’s thesis, “A Survey of Parameter Estimation Methods for the Lambda-Sigma Jump Detection Model”; seminar documents on computer targeting; submarine data, reference, and attack manuals (editor); a submarine tactics newsletter (editor); and numerous classified evaluation reports on submarine exercises, operations, and equipment performance.