Kris K. Gaines

Kris Gaines is a Senior Nonproliferation Specialist and Project Manager at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in the Nuclear Nonproliferation Division where he has been in this role since 2009. Throughout his career, Kris has provided project management and engineering support for both the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. His work has focused on the security of highly enriched uranium at various Russian nuclear sites, as well as the removal or elimination of highly enriched uranium fuel from former Soviet and Chinese-supplied research reactors throughout Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and West Africa to reduce the nuclear proliferation threat they pose.

Recipient of the Secretary of Energy Achievement Award – 2017 & 2026