PORT GIBSON — The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has selected Blake Rice as the new resident inspector at the Grand Gulf Nuclear Station.

Rice joined the NRC in 2006 and most recently was a reactor inspector in the NRC Region IV office in Arlington, TX. He began his career at NRC headquarters performing design certification reviews in the Office of New Reactors and transferred to the Region IV office in 2008. Rice holds a master’s degree in nuclear engineering from Kansas State University and a bachelor’s degree in physics from Washburn University.

Each U.S. commercial nuclear power plant site has at least two NRC resident inspectors.

Rice joins senior resident inspector Richard Smith. They serve as the agency’s eyes and ears at the facility, conducting inspections and monitoring significant work projects.