Dan Gabriel Cacuci is a South Carolina SmartState Endowed Chair Professor and the Director of the Center for Nuclear Science and Energy, Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of South Carolina. He has a Ph.D. in Applied Physics, Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering from Columbia University. He is also the recipient of many awards including four honorary doctorates, the Ernest Orlando Lawrence Memorial award from the U.S. Dept. of Energy and the Arthur Holly Compton, Eugene P. Wigner and the Glenn Seaborg Awards from the American Nuclear Society.