Spellman and Williams were recognized specifically for their technical support provided to the DOE-CH procurement staff. They were cited for "contributing to a safer and better world" by assisting DOE's procurement of private-sector services to fabricate mixed oxide (MOX) fuel from surplus weapons-usable plutonium and irradiate the MOX fuel elements in commercial nuclear reactors.
Spellman accepted a senior development staff position at ORNL in 1991. He is the Procurement Technical Support task manager for the Reactor-based Plutonium Disposition Program in ORNL's Engineering Technology Division (ETD). Spellman received a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Purdue University and pursued master's degree studies in ocean engineering at the University of Rhode Island.
Spellman serves on the management board of the American Nuclear Society (ANS) Standards Committee and is the ANS liaison to the Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers Nuclear Power Engineering Committee. He is a member of the City of Norris Planning Committee and chairman of the Board of Zoning Appeals. A retired U.S. Navy officer, Spellman and his wife, Sharon, live in Norris. They have two children, Mark and Lisa.
Williams worked as an engineer at the former Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant from 1970 to 1985, performing technical and economic analyses of uranium enrichment technologies. He is a member of the Engineering Economic Evaluations staff in ETD and performs technical and economic analyses for DOE nuclear technology-related programs. Williams received bachelor's and master's degrees in chemical engineering from Purdue University and holds a doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Williams is a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. He is a leader for the Boy Scouts of America. He is a member of ORION, an Oak Ridge astronomy group, and attends First Presbyterian Church of Oak Ridge. Williams and his wife, Joyce, live in Oak Ridge. They have two children, Jared and Kara.
ORNL, one of DOE's multiprogram national research and development facilities, is managed by Lockheed Martin Energy Research Corporation.