In Memoriam: Angelo Joseph "Joe" Nardi

1941-2022

by Wayne Bickerstaff

Angelo Joseph "Joe" Nardi died 30 November 2022 in Monroeville, Pennsylvania.

Joe was born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Saint Mary's High School in 1959. He earned a BS in chemical engineering from Pennsylvania State University in 1963 and an MS in nuclear engineering from Stanford University in 1964.

Employment History:
Joe initially worked for the US Atomic Energy Commission after graduating from Stanford; then he joined the Westinghouse Nuclear Fuel Division (NFD). In the 1970s, he was part of a team that designed and constructed the Plutonium Fuel Development Laboratory (PFDL) at the Westinghouse facility in Cheswick, Pennsylvania. The PFDL was a prototype facility for handling mixed uranium and plutonium fuel. Later (1976–1980) he was the manager of the health physics department at the Cheswick site and led a team to decommission the PFDL until it was closed. Joe was well respected throughout the Westinghouse NFD health physics community and often took the initiative to mentor some of the younger health physicists.

In 1980, Joe moved to the Westinghouse Energy Center as the Administrator of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licenses for Westinghouse. In this position, he managed all the Westinghouse nuclear licenses, including decommissioning activities at both active and retired facilities. Joe retired from Westinghouse in 2006 with over 40 years of service. He then joined Enercon Services as a nuclear engineer in the Pittsburgh office and initially worked full-time, and later part-time until his death.

Teaching History
For several years, Joe was an adjunct professor at the at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health where he taught reactor health physics in the radiation health master's program. In addition to his teaching, Joe always welcomed the opportunity to educate and guide others to expand their knowledge of health physics.

Professional Activities
For many years, Joe was an active member of the Health Physics Society (HPS) and the American Nuclear Society (ANS). He had been president of the Western Pennsylvania Chapter of the HPS and had served on several committees of this chapter.

Family Time
Joe and his long-time partner Helen Naimark traveled extensively in their motor home and by air and cruise ship. He visited Alaska, the North Pole, and countries in Europe, Japan, and Iceland, to name a few. Joe was preparing to embark on a trip that would have taken him to the South Pole. He and Helen also enjoyed square dancing and did so while they were able. He remained close with his and her family. You could consider yourself lucky and fortunate to have known and worked with Joe, both as your friend and coworker.