Westinghouse Realigns Research and Technology (R&T) Unit

PITTSBURGH, April 20 /PRNewswire/ -- In response to the unprecedented, growing demand for clean, secure energy worldwide, Westinghouse Electric Company announced a restructuring of its Research and Technology Unit (RTU) into three major segments:  R&T Strategy, Nuclear Energy Innovation Leadership (NEIL) hub and R&T Operations.

Dr. Kate Jackson, Westinghouse senior vice president for RTU and chief technology officer, said the realignment supports the company's aspirations to be the global leader of the nuclear renaissance and to provide future generations with safe, clean and reliable electricity.    

"Innovation and technology leadership has long been a cornerstone of Westinghouse," she said.  "The Research and Technology Unit is charged with investing in breakthrough technologies that will deliver innovative, durable and sustainable products and services to our customers and, ultimately, to the world at large."

Carlos Leipner, director of R&T Strategy, will coordinate company-wide technology strategy, and provide business development, project management and continuous improvement to RTU.  R&T Strategy will champion an Open Innovation Network to leverage Westinghouse global partners to collaborate in technology development.  Prior to this assignment, Mr. Leipner served as assistant deployment director in Europe for Westinghouse Customer 1st -- the company's continuous improvement initiative.  He has more than 17 years of global Westinghouse experience, holding roles of increasing responsibility in the company's Fuel and Services businesses in the United States, Sweden and Spain.  Mr. Leipner earned bachelor's and master's degrees in nuclear engineering from the University of Florida and a master's degree in business administration from the University of South Carolina.

John Goossen has been appointed director of the Nuclear Energy Innovation Leadership (NEIL) hub, which will focus on revolutionary technology that approaches the world's energy market in a game-changing way.  The hub will pursue new business creation that delivers value to customers through breakthrough Innovation.  The NEIL hub takes technology concepts through the stages of verification, application formulation, refinement and ultimately commercialization. Mr. Goossen previously was Director of Westinghouse Science and Technology and responsible for the Westinghouse Innovation program.  He has extensive Westinghouse experience, including roles in Engineering, Strategic Management and Engineering Marketing.  He holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Rochester Institute of Technology and a master's degree in engineering management from the University of Pittsburgh.  

Dr. Tom Congedo has been appointed director of the R&T Operations group, which provides technical expertise and facility capabilities to support Westinghouse commercial activities, as well as evolutionary and revolutionary technology development.  This group is comprised of some of the world's leading nuclear and energy experts and researchers, with access to global networks of other scientists, experts and research facilities.  R&T Operations provides human capital and research facilities that support the NEIL hub and Westinghouse businesses, as well as the industry.   Dr. Congedo, a Westinghouse Fellow Engineer, previously managed RTU's Research and Development and Thermal, Fluid and Nuclear Engineering groups. He has held various technical and management roles in Westinghouse, including nuclear core and safety analysis; radiation transport analysis and experimentation.  Dr. Congedo holds bachelor's and master's degrees in Physics from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn and a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Pittsburgh.

The RTU organization also is responsible for center-led management of Westinghouse Research and Technology.  This includes the development of technology strategic imperatives and delivery of technical results that will sustain Westinghouse global technology leadership.

Westinghouse Electric Company, a group company of Toshiba Corporation (TOKYO:6502), is the world's pioneering nuclear power company and is a leading supplier of nuclear plant products and technologies to utilities throughout the world.  Westinghouse supplied the world's first PWR in 1957 in Shippingport, Pa.  Today, Westinghouse technology is the basis for well over 40 percent of the world's operating nuclear plants, including 60 percent of those in the United States.

SOURCE Westinghouse Electric Company