Dr. Theresa “Teri” Lalain serves as the Director of the NNSA Office of Cost Estimating and Program Evaluation (CEPE), a position she has held since January 2023.
Reporting directly to the NNSA Administrator, Dr. Lalain serves as the principal advisor to the Administrator and Secretary of Energy on cost estimating and program analysis within NNSA. She leads CEPE in conducting independent cost estimates on NNSA’s construction projects and programs, managing the annual program review of NNSA’s budget, advising on policies and procedures and providing independent review on analysis of alternatives, and executing corporate analysis of programs and cross-cutting issues across the agency. She is a member of the Federal Senior Executive Service.
Prior to joining NNSA, Dr. Lalain served as Deputy Division Director for the Division of Systems Analysis in the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). She led a diverse research portfolio supporting regulatory decision-making, including development of the first NRC Artificial Intelligence Strategic Plan, opening the pathway for the safe use of new technologies.
Previously, Dr. Lalain served as the Capabilities Division Chief with the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command Headquarters where she ensured the readiness of the instrumentation at Army test ranges used to evaluate the effectiveness, suitability and survivability of items to be deployed to soldiers. She also served as a Branch Chief for the U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, where she led research programs bridging decontamination of emerging threats and chemical warfare agents with toxicology to enable assessment and mitigation of hazardous environments.
Dr. Lalain earned her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Notre Dame College of Ohio and her Ph.D. in chemistry from Pennsylvania State University.