Dr. Larry W. Perkins serves as the Director of the Office of Worker Protection and Nuclear Safety, an integral part of the Office of Environment, Health, Safety, and Security. In this critical role, Dr. Perkins spearheads the development and maintenance of robust worker safety and health, nuclear safety, safety management program, and quality assurance requirements for the Department. His leadership ensures the continuous protection of DOE workers and the public from inherent hazards across nuclear and non-nuclear facilities and operations. He is also responsible for collecting, summarizing and sharing lessons learned from workplace occurrences and event information throughout the DOE complex, fostering continuous improvement in environmental, safety, and health performance. Dr. Perkins provides essential support to DOE Headquarters, Field Elements, and Contractors, proactively identifying and resolving shared challenges to advance mission accomplishments and cultivate a culture of health and safety excellence across the enterprise.
Bringing over 20 years of dedicated government service as both a federal employee and contractor, Dr. Perkins possesses extensive expertise. Before joining EHSS, he led various safety programs within the Headquarters Office of Environmental Management, covering areas such as nuclear safety, worker safety and health, fire protection, criticality safety, Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board interface, quality assurance, and chemical safety. His leadership roles included serving as the Office Director for the Office of Safety Management and the Office Director for the Office of Standards and Quality Assurance. Prior to his federal service, Dr. Perkins gained significant field and project support experience, complementing his strong licensing and quality assurance background. These roles encompassed positions such as Nuclear Safety Manager, Project Engineering Manager, Authorization Basis Lead, and Quality Assurance Specialist for nuclear facilities nationwide. He has acted as a Subject Matter Expert for numerous DOE sites and projects, specializing in authorization basis, nuclear safety, quality assurance, project management, engineering, chemical processing, and worker and process safety. Throughout his distinguished career, Dr. Perkins has led countless reviews and supported high-risk projects across integrated safety management, nuclear safety, operational safety, operational readiness/startup, and quality assurance.
Dr. Perkins holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Tennessee Technological University, and a Master’s and Doctorate in Chemical Engineering from the University of Tennessee. He further expanded his professional qualifications by earning a Juris Doctorate Degree from Lincoln Memorial University. Dr. Perkins is a licensed Professional Engineer and a licensed attorney. He is also qualified in several Technical Qualification Program areas, including Senior Technical Safety Manager, Nuclear Safety Specialist, Quality Assurance, and Software Quality Assurance.