Ivan Selin is an American businessman, and former Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is an independent agency of the United States government that was established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 from the United States Atomic Energy Commission, and was first opened January 19, 1975...

 and Under Secretary of State for Management. Selin is a Fulbright Scholar and graduate of Yale University

Yale University

Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...

 (PhD, Electrical Engineering, 1960) and University of Paris

University of Paris

The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...

 (Doctor of Science, Mathematics, 1962). Selin married Nina Cantor in 1957 and has two children, Douglas and Jessica.

Early career

From 1960 to 1965, Dr. Selin was a research engineer at the RAND Corporation, working on national security issues and statistical communication theory.
In 1965, Selin went to work for the Office of the Secretary of Defense, one of Robert S. McNamara's Whiz Kids

Whiz Kids (Department of Defense)

Whiz Kids was a name given to a group of experts from RAND Corporation with which Robert McNamara surrounded himself in order to turn around the management of the United States Department of Defense in the 1960s...

. From 1965 to 1970, Selin worked for McNamara, becoming Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Systems Analysis by the end of that period. While serving in this capacity, Selin represented the Office of the Secretary of Defense at the commissioning of the USS Knox

USS Knox

USS Knox may refer to:*USS Knox , was a launched 17 July 1943 and sold in 1947*USS Knox , was a launched 19 November 1966 and sunk as a target in 2007...

. He received the Department of Defense Distinguished Civilian Service Medal in 1970.

In 1970, Selin and several DOD colleagues co-founded American Management Systems

American Management Systems

American Management Systems was a high technology and management consulting firm, founded in 1970 by a group of five former Defense Department officials who had worked under Robert McNamara in the Kennedy and Johnson administration...

, a technology and management consulting firm. Selin served as Chief Executive Officer from the company's founding to the late 1980s.

Selin served as chairman of the Military Economic Advisory Panel to the Director of Central Intelligence (1978-1989); member (1979-1989) and chairman (1988-1989) of the Board of Governors of the United Nations Association-USA; member of the Advisory Board on the USSR and Eastern Europe at the National Academy of Sciences (1986-88); and member of the Council on Foreign Relations (1979-present).

Later Public Service

Selin was Under Secretary of State for Management from May 23, 1989 to June 30, 1991. He received the Secretary of State's Distinguished Service Award

Awards of the United States Department of State

The United States Department of State, like other agencies of the U.S. federal government, gives civilian decorations for outstanding service, sacrifice, or heroism...

 in 1991.

On July 1, 1991, Selin became Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, serving in that capacity until he resigned on June 30, 1995. Selin was sworn in by outgoing NRC Chairman Kenneth Monroe Carr

Kenneth Monroe Carr

Kenneth M. Carr became Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on July 1, 1989. He has been a member of the Commission since August 14, 1986. He retired from the U.S. Navy as a vice admiral on May 1, 1985, last serving as Deputy and Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief Atlantic Command...

 and also had a ceremonial swearing-in ceremony at which Vice President Dan Quayle

Dan Quayle

James Danforth "Dan" Quayle served as the 44th Vice President of the United States, serving with President George H. W. Bush . He served as a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from the state of Indiana....

 presided and Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor

Sandra Day O'Connor

Sandra Day O'Connor is an American jurist who was the first female member of the Supreme Court of the United States. She served as an Associate Justice from 1981 until her retirement from the Court in 2006. O'Connor was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981...

 administered the oath.
Selin was Founding Chairman of the Board of the Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian Institution

The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...

's National Museum of American History

National Museum of American History

The National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center collects, preserves and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific and military history. Among the items on display are the original Star-Spangled Banner and Archie Bunker's...

.

For his government service, he received the Pentagon’s Distinguished Civilian Service medal in 1970 and, from the Secretary of State, the Distinguished Service Medal in 1991.