Vaughn Lotspeich Bio

Vaughn Lotspeich - UPF Project Manager

Mr. Lotspeich obtained his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Wyoming, in 1979. He joined the General Electric Company (GE) as a field engineer assigned to the Casper, WY office where he principally started up and serviced coal mining, oil well drilling and large steam turbine generator excitation and power system stabilizer systems.

In 1983 he became GE’s construction site manager for the DOE Western Area Power Administration’s high voltage direct current converter station in Miles City, MT. After completing the Miles City converter station in 1986, he became the GE’s site manager for the DOE Idaho National Engineering Laboratory’s (INEL) Specific Manufacturing Capability (SMC) reversing hot strip rolling mill, taking primary responsibility for the design and programming of the hydraulic cylinders and roll bending control systems as well as overseeing the testing and commissioning of the main motor and feed table drives and control and VAX/VMS data collection and manufacturing supervisory computer system.

In 1987 Mr. Lotspeich became GE’s project manager for three turnkey paper machine modernization projects in western Oregon where he managed the re-electrification and process automation updates of an off-machine coater (high grade magazine stock), craft paper machine and a newsprint co-generation capability.

In 1989 Mr. Lotspeich joined the INEL’s SMC project as the process automation manager with subsequent assignments as the mechanical and electrical design and facility engineering manager. In 1994 Mr. Lotspeich assumed responsibility for the electrical engineering department for the INEL where he managed the electrical engineering of the site’s infrastructure and process upgrades. In 1997 he became the director for the INEL’s Facility Engineering division where he oversaw all multi-discipline infrastructure and process design as well as long range site wide planning.

In 2000, when Bechtel-BWXT Idaho assumed the INEL management and operating contract, Mr. Lotspeich assumed the concurrent responsibilities as the functional manager of the Project Engineering, and the work organizations Diverse Engineering Projects and Idaho Falls Facilities Operations Engineering departments. Design activities managed included environmental remediation, nuclear operations and work for others initiatives.

In 2002, Mr. Lotspeich joined BWXT Y-12 as a project manager where he first became involved in the Uranium Processing Facility. He also managed the final construction and turnover phases of the Y-12 FCAP 3500 Ton Hydraulic Press and the Refurbish Power Supply and Distribution Systems projects.

In 2008 he transferred to the Bechtel Power Global Business Unit as the Control Systems Engineering Group Supervisor for the TVA Watts Bar Unit 2 Completion Project and then to the NextEra Port St. Lucie Extended Power Uprate Project. He also developed electrical and instrumentation and control construction workpackages at the NextEra Point Beach Extended Power Uprate. His next assignment was to the TVA Bellefonte Unit 1 Completion Project where he prepared egineering estimates for the replacement of instrumetation and controls on balance of plant systems.