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Oakberg Receives Honorary
Doctorate
John Oakberg, mathematics ’69, received an
honorary doctorate at the Auburn University
2015 spring commencement. Oakberg was part
of a team of scientists at the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna to receive the
2005 Nobel Peace Prize. The award was presented
for their efforts to prevent nuclear energy from
being used for military purposes and to ensure that
nuclear energy for peaceful purposes is used in the
safest way possible.
“The most significant highlight
during my career was in
sharing, along with all other
IAEA staff members, receipt of
the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize,”
said Oakberg.
When looking back at his career, he recalls his time
as a student at Auburn and notes that in addition
to a degree in mathematics, he received minors in
Spanish and geography.
“At the time (of graduation), I was not sure what I
would do with the degree, and initially thought of
teaching, weather forecasting, or going to graduate
school. The prospect of an information technology
career was not even a consideration at that time,”
said Oakberg. “Following graduation in 1969, my
entry job as a computer programmer began in
July of that year for Union Carbide Corporation’s
Nuclear Division, which was the contractor
28
Journey/Fall: 2015
operating the three nuclear facilities in Oak Ridge,
Tennessee. Certainly, my mathematics degree was
necessary to be considered for employment, but I
was told that the key, critical factor for being hired
was a single elective course in Fortran programming
that I took during my senior year at Auburn.”
Oakberg worked for 12 years at Union Carbide
Corporation, and in 1976, he received a master’s in
computer science from the University of Tennessee
before accepting a position at IAEA as a systems
expert developing nuclear material accounting
software. After a year, he left IAEA to work in
the software development industry, where he had
special safeguards project responsibilities at the U.S.
national safeguards level. He was responsible for the
management and supervision of professional and
clerical staff in the implementation of a near-realtime nuclear material information system at a largescale processing facility, as well as the development
of information systems for U.S. nuclear material
accounting and control.
In 1982, Oakberg accepted another position
with IAEA, this time as a senior information
analyst in the Division of Safeguards Information
Management. His primary responsibilities were
in the areas of correlating and analyzing statesupplied information related to information analysis
in strengthened international safeguards, and in
providing expertise on nuclear material accounting
and reporting with respect to the relevant
provisions of safeguards agreements.
Oakberg was also responsible for the operation of
nuclear material accounting as implemented in the
IAEA safeguards information system, along with
state-declared additional protocol information
including reviewing information systems and their
data content in order to detect and determine
information relationships. He retired from IAEA
in 2007.
“Training others was an aspect of my job that
was very rewarding and successful,” said Oakberg.
“Working with States to resolve problems required
not only a thorough knowledge of safeguards
agreements, it was necessary to correspond at all
levels with those States. Communication relevant
to actions taken concerning State nuclear material
accounting information and resolving nuclear
material accounting and reporting problems
occurred on a daily basis.”
Although he technically retired, Oakberg continues
to work as a senior nuclear safeguards consultant.