NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe on May 13 named Theron M. Bradley Jr. as the agency's Chief Engineer, responsible for the overall review and technical readiness of all NASA programs.

Bradley, 55, is a former nuclear engineer for the U.S. Navy, serving in the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program. He has also served as a civilian with the U.S. Department of Energy and the Department of Defense in numerous leadership and management positions with the Office of Naval Reactors, both in Washington and in the Idaho branch.

"As this agency explores next-generation technology and propulsion alternatives, it's important to have someone who can provide an independent technical review of our programs and projects," said Administrator O'Keefe. "Theron's impressive credentials as a technical designer and engineer will be instrumental in evaluating the development success and safety of our future ventures."

Reporting directly to the Administrator, Bradley will ensure development efforts and mission operations are being planned and conducted on a sound engineering basis and will provide an integrated focus for agency-wide engineering policies, standards and practices.

During his Navy career, Bradley served as Director, Submarine Systems, for the Trident submarine program and was instrumental in the initial design of the nuclear propulsion plant for Nimitz class aircraft carriers and the advanced reactor design for Los Angeles class submarines.

Since 1982, he has served the Director of Naval Nuclear Propulsion as a field representative and manager of the branch office in Idaho, in charge of nuclear operations.

Bradley will join NASA June 15.