In 1980, Mr. Spellman completed a successful 20-year military career in Navy nuclear submarines reaching rank of Lieutenant Commander and qualification as Nuclear Submarine Chief Engineer Officer. During his Navy career, Mr. Spellman received a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University supported by the U.S. Navy and completed Master of Science studies in Ocean Engineering (nuclear programs) at the University of Rhode Island.
After Navy retirement, Mr. Spellman served as a project manager for Gas-Cooled Reactor Associates (GCRA) from 1980 to 1982, he provided supervision and technical direction for research and development of the modular high-temperature gas-cooled reactor.
After 1982 he was employed for 9 years in various roles as an engineering and management consultant for Management Analysis Company to the commercial nuclear power industry. He was responsible for directing utility assumption of design responsibilities after construction completion, as a principal reviewer on the reactor plant Change Control Boards, implementation of Configuration Management principles, and conducted design change reviews at three different reactor plants.
In 1991, Mr. Spellman joined Oak Ridge National Laboratory as a member of the DOE Technical Standards Program and later as the Program Manager for ORNL support for the Fissile Materials Disposition Program Domestic Reactors Project in support of the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Materials Disposition (NA-23). In this role, he had responsibility for technical support, research and development, and programmatic tasking associated with the U.S. reactor option for disposition of weapons-grade plutonium as mixed-oxide nuclear fuel. Mr. Spellman was a member of the DOE Source Evaluation Board for the selection of a prime contractor to provide design, construction, and operation of the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility at the Savannah River National Laboratory. Additionally, he participated in ORNL laboratory nuclear fuel development activities primarily related to nuclear fuel post irradiation hot cell examinations. Also at ORNL, he was a member of the ORNL High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) independent safety oversight committee (Reactor Operations Review Committee). Primary responsibility for this committee was to periodically review operations and maintenance activities at HFIR and review periodic updates to the HFIR Safety Evaluation Report.
In 2017, Mr. Spellman retired from Oak Ridge National Laboratory after 26 years of service. Since retirement from ORNL, he has served as a Subject Matter Expert on retainer back to the laboratory and various other tasking for Xcel Engineering, Inc., Oak Ridge, TN.