Michael Whedbee

Bio

Michael Whedbee, PMP, is the Technical Project Manager for the DUECE project at ORNL, tasked with developing a deployable centrifuge technology for the NNSA Domestic Uranium Enrichment (DUE) mission. Currently, Mr. Whedbee provides project and technical leadership to the DUECE project within the Enrichment Science and Engineering Division at ORNL. Michael was born and raised in East Tennessee and is a third-generation “Manhattan Project” employee.

Mr. Whedbee has experience in complex systems engineering, design engineering, project management, and manufacturing in the DOE nuclear arena. Before his current role at ORNL, he was the Section Head of the Testing Science and Cascade Engineering Section, part of the Enrichment Science and Engineering Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Before coming to ORNL in 2014, Mr. Whedbee was the Manager of Manufacturing for American Centrifuge Manufacturing (ACM) L.L.C. during the DOE Research, Development, & Demonstration (RD&D) Program for the AC100 American Centrifuge, managing the day to day manufacturing operations of the Technology & Manufacturing Center in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Mr. Whedbee was also the Engineering Manager for ACM during the development and qualification phases of the manufacturing processes used during the RD&D program. Mr. Whedbee also worked as a lead process engineer at the Y-12 National Security Plant from 2002 through 2007, working on various projects with the National Laboratories, weapons assembly, and disassembly activities, as well as serving as the UPF project process engineering lead for assembly/disassembly processes. While at Y-12, he authored over 35 technical reports for many of the Nuclear Weapons Complex National Laboratory design agencies and received two NNSA Defense Programs Awards of Excellence. Before starting his nuclear career, Mr. Whedbee was a design engineer for commercial and construction equipment at John Deere Co. Mr. Whedbee received his Bachelor of Science (BS) in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tennessee with a 3.67 GPA, where he also completed a graduate certification program in Engineering Management. He is currently enrolled in a Mechanical Engineering Ph.D. program through Tennessee Tech University. He holds an active Project Management Professional (PMP) certification and has completed a two-year senior leadership development course through The Center for Creative Leadership.

Professional Experience

• Co-PI - 6010 Enriched Stable Isotope Pilot Project (ESIPP)
• PI - Molybdenum Hexafluoride Stable Isotope Enrichment Project
• WBS Owner - Domestic Uranium Enrichment Centrifuge Experiment (DUECE)
• PI - Stable Isotope Production Facility (SIPF)
• Co-PI – Stable Isotopes Production and Research Center (SIPRC)

Awards

2007 NNSA Defense Programs Award of Excellence

2003 NNSA Defense Programs Award of Excellence

Specialized Equipment

Gas Centrifuge