B. John Garrick

B. John Garrick (March 5, 1930 – November 1, 2020) was an American nuclear engineer and risk scientist recognized as a pioneer in the development of Probabilistic risk assessment (PRA). Across a career spanning more than five decades, he founded the consulting firm PLG, Inc. to apply quantitative risk methods to complex engineered systems in fields such as nuclear power, aerospace, chemical processing, and transportation. Garrick’s early research, including his 1968 doctoral dissertation at the University of California, Los Angeles, helped establish an analytical framework now widely adopted to quantify the likelihood and consequences of low-probability, high-impact events. He received multiple honors for his contributions, notably election to the National Academy of Engineering for “making quantitative risk assessment an applied science and a fundamental part of engineering design.”

Garrick served two terms as chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (2004–2012) following his appointment by President George W. Bush. He was a Distinguished Adjunct Professor at UCLA and played an active role in launching the university’s B. John Garrick Institute for the Risk Sciences with a significant philanthropic gift in 2014. Among other professional distinctions, he was a Fellow of the American Nuclear Society, the Society for Risk Analysis, and the Institute for the Advancement of Engineering. Provided by Wikipedia