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Profiles in Enrichment tells the stories of USEC employees who have made great contributions to the company or our local communities.
Ben Jordan, an avid 4-wheel off-road enthusiast, has become quite adept at bridging the gaps between the many different people working to make the American Centrifuge technology a success
As it turns out, constructing one of the world’s most advanced uranium enrichment machines depends in large part on bridge-building skills. Ben Jordan, USEC’s manufacturing development and integration manager does not have experience in building the dramatic spans that grace the east Tennessee mountains he calls home, but he has become quite adept at bridging the gaps between the many different people working to make the American Centrifuge technology a success.
“The single most critical factor is how effectively we communicate with a wide range of different people,” said Jordan of the role his division plays in constructing the American Centrifuge Plant. “This job is about communications as much as anything.”
Jordan’s team is responsible for bridging the divide between scientists who design and develop the technology and the engineers who are manufacturing and building it. He also spends much of his time bridging the gap between USEC and the company’s other strategic suppliers sharing lessons learned in building the hardware that will make up the American Centrifuge.
Jordan’s life outside USEC might not make you think of a “bridge-builder.” An avid 4-wheel off-road enthusiast and private pilot, he spends a great deal of time avoiding bridges altogether. Jordan also loves auto racing including drag racing and dirt-track racing where he builds cars as well as drives them.
When asked which role was more important to a winning racer, Jordan exhibits the skills that have made him successful noting, “It depends. Some forms of racing rely much more on the driver while others depend largely on the engineers.”
Ultimately, it was this passion for automobiles that led him down the path that has ended at USEC. A mechanical engineering undergraduate student, Jordan had his eyes set on the automotive manufacturing business and spent time working in a steel stamping factory as well as supervising an oil filter assembly operation. Jordan also completed a dual master’s program in mechanical engineering and business administration where he and two colleagues worked with a professor to invent a car brake light that flashes if the driver slams on the brakes.
Jordan credits his dual master’s degree program with helping cultivate his bridge-building skills. “The business aspect has helped a great deal by enabling me to step out of the typical engineering role and look for broader opportunities to provide value to USEC,” said Jordan.
Jordan admits that many of his hobbies developed from his need to release excess energy and that much of that energy has been replaced by spending time with his 8-month old, Henry Samuel. It should be no surprise, however, that this bridge builder is already thinking ahead of how to merge those two passions. “I’ve already got his first race car picked out,” laughs Jordan.