Alumnus Wins 2019 Wilson Award

Congratulations to BYU alumnus Paul Taylor who is the recipient of the prestigious 2019 Robert E. Wilson Award. The Robert E. Wilson award is the oldest award presented by the Nuclear Engineering Division of the American Institute of Chemical Engineering (AIChE). The award was first presented by the organization in 1967 and is awarded to an individual who has made “outstanding chemical engineering contributions and achievements in the nuclear industry.”

Paul Taylor received his BS degree in chemical engineering from Brigham Young University in 1974 and completed a number of graduate level courses at the University of Tennessee while working at the Oak Ridge (TN) Y-12 Plant. From 1974 to 1988 Taylor was a development engineer at the Y-12 Plant before transferring to the Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL) where he now works as a chemical engineer and senior development staff member in the Isotope and Fuel Cycle Technology Division. Taylor has been the principal investigator in laboratory and pilot-scale studies of production of surrogate nuclear debris, production of various uranium compounds, fission product separations, wastewater treatment, and high-level radioactive waste treatment. Taylor is currently treasurer and membership Chairman of the Oak Ridge -- Knoxville section of AIChE, and has previously served as chair and director.

Taylor will receive his award November 10 at a special dinner at the American Institution of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Fall 2019 meeting in Orlando, Florida.

Photo Courtesy of Paul Taylor

Article by Taelin Wilford