Gene Nelson Ph.D.
Radiation Biophysics
Dr. Nelson earned his bachelors of science degree at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California in 1973 and his Ph.D. in radiation biophysics in 1984 from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Dr. Nelson has worked in the technology-intensive private sector including utilities, as well as government and nonprofit entities. He has also held professorships in the fields of engineering, physical sciences, and biological sciences at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
In 2022 he was recognized by the American Nuclear Society with a Presidential Citation for his tenacious advocacy for the extended operations of Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP) near San Luis Obispo, California. DCPP typically produces the equivalent of five Hoover Dams of electricity each year. DCPP’s power is safe, 24/7 reliable, abundant, cost-effective and zero-emission. As an advocate for ending the prospect of atomic warfare, he recognizes nuclear power plants are the safest and most cost-effective means to render special weapons material unsuitable for use in weapons. He points
to the success of the 1990s Megatons to Megawatts program which converted the equivalent of 20,000 Soviet atomic bombs into reactor fuel for the American power reactor fleet. He was part of a team that testified for the passage of California SB 846 on September 2, 2022, preserving the option of DCPP extended operations beyond 2025. The CPUC approved extending DCPP operations on December 14, 2023.