Erik K. Webb provides leadership and management direction for research and development (R&D) programs as Director of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Grid Modernization Center at Sandia National Laboratories. He also serves as Program Area Director for the Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Grid Modernization Program within Sandia’s Energy & Homeland Security (E/HS) Portfolio.
In his previous role as Senior Manager of Sandia’s Geoscience Research & Applications Group, Erik provided leadership for five departments engaged across fossil energy, carbon management, subsurface energy storage, nuclear repository programs, detection of underground structures, basic science of geological materials, geothermal energy, and geological elements of treaty verification and nuclear weapons programs for multiple federal agencies and foreign governments, and in partnership with universities and commercial companies.
Formerly, Erik served as the Senior Manager for the current Global Security Strategic Futures organization serving Sandia’s Global Security Portfolio, interfacing with Labs-level strategic efforts and facilitating Sandia’s engagement with NNSA’s Defense Nonproliferation Programs and their related government partners, including the Israel Atomic Energy Commission and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. He also previously served as Senior Manager for the Geoscience Research & Applications Group prior to its reorganization, with responsibility for atmospheric sciences, arctic and atmospheric monitoring and modeling, climate programs, and geoengineering.
His previous experience includes working on an array of earth science problems with commercial entities, U.S. Government agencies, and foreign government organizations (Japan, China, Taiwan, Sweden, Switzerland). Other career highlights include serving a fellowship with the Japanese Atomic Energy Agency, overseeing Sandia’s hydrological research, serving as a Congressional Fellow on the Senate Energy Committee, and serving on the personal staff of Senator Pete Domenici, focusing on western water policy and energy issues. He also served as Deputy Chief of Staff to Sandia’s then President Tom Hunter from 2008-2010, and as Government Relations Manager for the nuclear weapons program during ratification of the third START treaty with Russia.
Erik earned his BS in engineering geology from Brigham Young University and his MS and PhD in hydrogeology, with emphasis in modeling and applied mathematics, from the University of Wisconsin. He served as adjunct faculty in the Earth and Planetary Sciences department at the University of New Mexico and worked on western water planning with the Utton Center at the UNM Law School.