The committee provides oversight of technical cooperation between the United States and Russia that advances the scientific basis for disposal of surplus plutonium from dismantled weapons.
The committee has 12 members - six Russian and six U.S. participants - and is co-chaired by a deputy minister of the Russian federation and a member of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
Michaels came to work at the Oak Ridge facilities in 1977 at the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant, now known as the East Tennessee Technology Park. He served as section head in the Process and Analysis Section for five years beginning in 1983. He then worked on nuclear fuel programs until accepting his current assignment as director of nuclear technology programs in 1994.
He received Lockheed Martin Technical Achievement awards in 1987 and 1994.
Michaels received a bachelor's degree in physics and a master's degree in nuclear engineering, both from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
He lives in Knoxville with his wife, Tricia, and their two children, Chelsea and Rachel.
ORNL, one of DOE's multiprogram national research and development facilities, is managed by Lockheed Martin Energy Research Corporation.