Ken Washington holds bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in nuclear engineering from Texas A&M University. He has led technology development across robotics, automotive, consumer products, and space sectors.
His career includes positions at Sandia National Laboratories, where he developed nuclear safeguards, as well as roles in information technology, computer sciences, supercomputing, information privacy, and research and development of space technologies.
At Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, he managed a team of 600 scientists and engineers. In 2023, Washington joined Medtronic from Amazon, where he served as vice president and general manager of consumer robotics. He previously held the position of chief technology officer at Ford Motor Company.
At Medtronic, Washington advanced innovation to support the company's mission of alleviating pain, restoring health, and extending life. He expanded the use of technology platforms, including robotics, artificial intelligence, sensors, and implantable devices, to improve innovation outcomes and drive sustainable growth.
Washington is recognized for his “unique ability to look across disparate disciplines to identify the most promising areas of research, foster cross-disciplinary collaboration, and drive the development of commercial applications of discoveries.” Click here to read more about this top award winner at the BEYA STEM Conference.
Texas A&M University recently highlighted the work of a nuclear engineering doctoral student developing physics-informed, AI-powered frameworks to automate information gathering and streamline workflows in nuclear research.
According to a press release, Zavier Ndum Ndum investigates the application of large language models (LLMs), a form of artificial intelligence used in chatbots such as ChatGPT, to support nuclear engineering and research activities.
Ndum is creating a suite of tools that integrates rapid knowledge acquisition and simulation capabilities into a unified package. One of these tools, RADIANT-LLM, employs a strategy known as LLM augmentation, which extends beyond conventional chatbot interactions.
Unlike publicly available AI agents, which cannot securely process private or proprietary documents required by nuclear facilities, Ndum’s frameworks access files stored locally, ensuring sensitive data remains within secure environments.
RADIANT-LLM also enables users to construct personalized local knowledge bases that can be updated with reputable information from controlled online sources.
Faculty in the College of Engineering recognize the significant potential of RADIANT-LLM.
Dr. Yang Liu, nuclear engineering professor and Ndum’s advisor, stated that this tool can assist reactor builders in streamlining the licensing process with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) by efficiently sorting through extensive NRC documentation and reducing manual workload.
Liu also noted that undergraduate students using Ndum’s frameworks learned simulation programs more rapidly.
Ndum presented RADIANT-LLM at the 2025 Institute of Nuclear Materials Management Annual Meeting in August, where his paper received the J.D. Williams Best Student Paper award in the Nuclear Security Division.
In February, the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station announced that it had signed an agreement with ZettaJoule, an advanced small modular reactor company with operations in the U.S. and Japan, to explore building a transformative research reactor in College Station, Texas.
According to the press release, the project has the potential to catalyze up to $1 billion in research collaborations, industrial partnerships, and federal funding over the next decade, positioning Texas A&M Engineering as the national hub for high-temperature gas reactor innovation.
Texas A&M University System Chancellor Glenn Hegar emphasized the project’s role in the state’s energy future.
With temperatures high enough for synthetic fuels, hydrogen, steelmaking, chemicals, desalination, and data centers, the ZJ0 platform could unlock entirely new applied research pathways for industry.
“We have long been a national leader in nuclear engineering, and this partnership positions us to help drive the next era of high temperature reactor innovation,” Dr. Robert H. Bishop, Vice Chancellor and Dean of Texas A&M Engineering, said. “This partnership strengthens our ability to support researchers and industry collaborators working at the forefront of next-generation energy systems.”
Having the ZJ0 reactor could attract substantial research dollars from advanced materials companies, refiners, hyperscalers, and government agencies such as NASA and the Department of Energy.
The Office of Nuclear Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy announced March 4 the allocation of ~$52 million to enhance research and career opportunities at colleges and universities in 19 states.
According to the announcement, this funding will support research and development to address complex challenges and advance nuclear energy science and technology, provide access to leading research facilities, and recognize outstanding faculty in nuclear energy and related disciplines.
A total of 46 projects nationwide will receive $52.8 million to help maintain the United States' leadership in advanced nuclear technology research and development.
The awards support nuclear technology development and early career faculty research activities aligned with the President’s Executive Order, Reinvigorating the Nuclear Industrial Base. These projects will expand access to research infrastructure and contribute to the growth of the national nuclear workforce. Funding is divided into two primary focus areas supporting early-stage nuclear energy research at U.S. universities, national laboratories, and industry partners.
The Nuclear Research and Development category will award 43 projects through the Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP) for research and development and the Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF) program for facility access.
The Distinguished Early Career Program will invest in three early-career university faculty members developing innovative research and education programs that establish new research directions and advance mission-critical nuclear energy research. These awards are funded through the DOE’s Nuclear Energy University Program and the Nuclear Science User Facilities program. Since 2009, the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy has invested over $1 billion to advance nuclear energy research and support the education and training of future leaders in the field.