Ken Petersen: 2024 Distinguished Achievement Award recipient

BSNE ’87, BS physics ‘87, MSNE ’88
President, KSP Consulting; Adjunct Professor, UW-Madison Department of Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics

A nuclear engineer, executive and leader who has leveraged technical expertise and global understanding to manage all aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle for the world’s second-largest nuclear utility.

Ken Petersen has spent his entire career in the nuclear energy industry, and while the industry has had its share of ups and downs over the years, he says the future looks bright for nuclear, as it offers a vital source of reliable, carbon-free energy for addressing climate change. And as the 2023-2024 president of the American Nuclear Society, Petersen played a significant role in advancing nuclear.

“It has been an exciting opportunity with the very positive recent developments for nuclear, including supportive legislation and the growing support from environmentalists,” he says. “So, it was a great time to be ANS president and to be able to help move various aspects of nuclear forward—not just power plants but also nuclear in space and isotopes for medical applications.”

Petersen started his career at Commonwealth Edison, where he managed the company’s high-level waste contracts before moving over to become a nuclear fuel buyer. The company later merged with PECO to form Exelon Generation Company, and Petersen moved up the ladder from the technical side to vice president of nuclear fuels for Exelon—the largest nuclear utility in the United States.

During his 12 years in this role, Petersen led Exelon’s fuel purchasing, nuclear core design and related safety analyses and spent fuel management. He oversaw Exelon’s $1 billion annual budget for nuclear fuel procurement and managed a nuclear fuel contract portfolio valued at more than $5 billion, while reducing overall fuel costs by 20%. He also led a team of 110 professionals to manage all aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle for Exelon’s fleet of 21 operating and three retired nuclear reactors.

After retiring in November 2021, Petersen became an executive consultant to the nuclear power industry, providing strategy, management and technical consulting related to nuclear fuel and special nuclear material, and teaching the NEEP senior design course at UW-Madison.

Which engineering professor made the greatest impact on you?

When I was in school, the course that had the greatest impact was the reactor theory course with Professor Greg Moses. That got me very excited about neutronics, which is what I focused on for my master’s degree. But, in my career, I was hired for a position that didn’t require me to directly apply that knowledge. In the long term, Professor Mike Corradini had the biggest impact. I’ve kept in contact with him over the decades. He’s always on the cutting edge of whatever is going on in the technology space, and he has a wealth of information.

What do you enjoy about your career?

Interacting with people. I really enjoyed mentoring people in my team at Exelon and watching them grow. I’m also lucky enough to know people from around the world who work in the nuclear industry and have common interests, and it’s great to interact with them as well.

Which do you prefer?

Fun on the Terrace or fun on Lake Mendota?
The Terrace. Having a beer and a brat there and watching the sunset is the ideal.

Camp Randall, the Kohl Center, or the UW Field House?
Camp Randall, because two of my children are in the UW Marching Band (one of them just graduated), and it was always fun to watch them. For up close sports action, I would say LaBahn Arena and watching the women’s ice hockey team.

Orange custard chocolate chip ice cream, or something else?
I have to admit that I like vanilla, much to the chagrin of my family.