Thomas Zacharia (Chair)
Former Laboratory Director
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Former President and Chief Executive Officer
UT–Battelle LLC
Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Appointed: January 2019
Term expires: December 31, 2024
Dr. Thomas Zacharia is the former director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the former president and chief executive officer of UT-Battelle LLC in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
UT-Battelle is a nonprofit limited liability company organized under the laws of Tennessee. Its members consist of the University of Tennessee and Battelle Memorial Institute. UT-Battelle administers, manages, and operates ORNL for the US Department of Energy (DOE).
Dr. Zacharia was responsible for a diverse portfolio of research and development programs focused on meeting the needs of the DOE and other sponsors for solutions to urgent problems in science, energy, and national security.
Dr. Zacharia's operating responsibilities included a nuclear reactor, a high-power proton accelerator, classified activities, and a complex array of research facilities and construction projects. He was responsible for an annual budget exceeding $2 billion.
Dr. Zacharia is chair of the board of directors of the Nashville Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. He is a member of the advisory board of GOR investment. He is a former board member of the Global Federation of Competitiveness Councils and former chair of the board of directors of Qatar Foundation Science and Technology SPC.
Dr. Zacharia holds a BS in mechanical engineering from the National Institute of Technology Karnataka, an MS in engineering from the University of Mississippi, and a PhD in engineering science from Clarkson University.