ICRP Vice-Chair Donald Cool Announces Retirement

2023-03-30

On 27 March 2023, Vice-Chair Dr Donald Cool announced his retirement from ICRP, after almost 40 years of dedicated work and service to the Commission.

Don’s journey into the field of radiological protection began in 1978 when he  completed his Bachelors in Biology from Houghton College, before receiving his Masters and PhD from the University Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in 1981 and 1983 respectively.  His career began in 1982 at the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), where he retired in 2015 as the Senior Advisor, Radiation Safety and International Liaison, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.  Most recently, Dr Cool served as Technical Executive for Radiation Safety at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), retiring in 2021.

Dr Cool first joined ICRP in 1984 as a member of the Task Group that produced Publication 46 on Principles for the Disposal of Solid Radioactive Waste.  Throughout the years, he has authored 8 ICRP publications: 46, 64, 76, 96, 101a, 123, 124, and 125. He was elected as a member of Committee 4 for a total of four non-consecutive terms (1993-1997, 2001-2005, 2005-2009, 2009-2013) before Chairing the Committee from 2013-2021 and serving on the Main Commission.  In 2021, he was elected of Vice-Chair of the Main Commission.

Over the years, Don has worn many hats above and beyond his time at ICRP which includes serving as a Council Member of the United States Council on Radiation Protection Measurements (NCRP) and Co-Chairing Council Committee 1, a Fellow for the Health Physics Society, serving as the United States Representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Radiation Safety Standards Committee (RASSC), Co-Chairing the United States Interagency Steering Committee on Radiation Standards, and NRC Representative to the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) Committee on Radiation Protection and Public Health (CRPPH). He also served on or chaired many advisory groups, panels, and meetings of various national and international organizations. 

Of all the hats, those who have known Don over the years know his most cherished role is as a family man to his wife Marie, his two children and six grandchildren.  He looks forward to having more time to spend with them.

The ICRP family would like to thank Dr Donald Cool for his unwavering commitment to the field of radiological protection worldwide.  His valued input, breadth of knowledge, and tie collection will be missed by all who had the pleasure of working with him.