Nick Hobbs

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission recently selected a new senior resident inspector and new resident inspector at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant.

Tom Stephen was named to the senior role, while Nick Hobbs was named resident inspector. They join Matt Kirk, who is also a resident inspector at the site.

At least two NRC resident inspectors are assigned to each operating commercial nuclear plant in the United States. They serve as the agency’s eyes and ears at the facility, conducting inspections, monitoring major work projects and interacting with plant workers and the public.

Stephen served as a resident inspector at Browns Ferry before returning to the NRC’s Region II office in Atlanta as a licensed operator examiner. Prior to joining the NRC in 2012, he served 20 years on active duty in the U.S. Navy, including five years as an enlisted nuclear-trained mechanic and 15 years as a submarine officer.

Stephen earned a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Auburn University, and a master’s degree in engineering management from Old Dominion University.

Hobbs joined the agency in 2015 in the Nuclear Safety Professional Development Program as a reactor systems engineer at the NRC headquarters office in Rockville, Maryland, where he assisted with licensing actions for operating reactors.

He transferred to Region II in 2017 to join the Resident Inspector Development Program. Prior to joining the agency, Hobbs interned at TerraPower and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in nuclear engineering from Georgia Tech.