Bio
John Francis Wade is a practicing engineer with over thirty-five years of experience. He has been a Registered Professional Engineer since 1992 and is past Treasurer of the Alabama Society of Professional Engineers. Dr. Wade holds B.S. (In Cursu Honorum) and M.S. degrees in Electrical Engineering, and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering - Fire Protection from the University of Tennessee. Dr. Wade added Fire Protection certification in 2018 and is an arc flash forensic investigator.
A recent addition to the ORNL Laboratory Modernization Division (subcontractor - Gem Technology), Dr. Wade supports capital construction and major renovation projects. He coordinates between engineering team members and contractor / craft personnel, providing technical responses to electrical system questions and changed conditions. Dr. Wade also provides design and implementation assistance for internal, small projects.
Working for BWX Technologies at the Clinch River and Nuclear Fuel Services (NFS) divisions, Dr. Wade supported production operations engineering and project activities. As group lead for the Electrical and Instrumentation team at NFS he was responsible for workplace electrical safety including arc flash hazard analysis and procedures implementing NFPA 70E. In his Advisory engineer capacity, Dr. Wade provided technical oversight for junior engineers, designers, automation specialists, contract staff, and engineer interns.
While supporting NASA at Marshall Space Flight Center for Teledyne-Brown Engineering, Dr. Wade was a member of the International Space Station Ground Operations team and later was ARES First Stage Operations liaison. During his 10-year tenure with Teledyne-Brown, he was twice proposal manager for successful bid efforts.
During 13 years at United Controls Corp., a small software and systems integration firm, Dr. Wade was technical lead in creation of a new business unit serving public and municipal utilities SCADA instrumentation and telemetry needs. In this capacity, he was responsible for UL 508A/698A instrument control panel standards enforcement, especially related to equipment constructed for hazardous locations.
Dr. Wade is an Eagle Scout and a member of Alpha Lambda Delta, Phi Kappa Phi, Eta Kappa Nu, and Tau Beta Pi honor societies. He is a recipient of the ARES 1-X Mission Manager's Flight Commendation and NASA Letter of Commendation for International Partner Training. He is an avid Amateur Radio operator, SCUBA diver, and plays classical guitar. He currently resides in east Tennessee with his wife Shawna.