President Barack Obama nominated Macfarlane to be an NRC commissioner and will designate her as NRC chair upon appointment. Macfarlane is an associate professor of Environmental Science and Policy at George Mason University (GMU), a position she has held since 2006. Macfarlane served as a member of the Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future from March 2010 to January 2012.
Macfarlane would serve the remainder of current NRC Chair Gregory Jaczko's term, which expires at the end of June 2013. On May 21, Jaczko announced that he would resign his position as soon as his successor was confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
President Obama has re-nominated current NRC Commissioner Svinicki for a second five-year term. Svinicki's current term is set to expire at the end of June 2012. On May 14, the American Nuclear Society issued a statement urging the U.S. Senate to act promptly on Svinicki's nomination so that there would be no interruption in her service.
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