Paul Wattelet
B.S. in Physics, 1962
Paul Wattelet vividly recalls a memory of his mother telling the late IIT president John T. Rettaliata that her undergraduate son was going to earn a Ph.D. one day. "Well, let’s get him through four years first," said Rettaliata. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in physics, Wattelet not only went on to obtain a doctorate in nuclear engineering from Purdue University, but also spent nearly four decades in the energy industry, including executive service at Sargent & Lundy.
"IIT's rigor provided me with an excellent foundation for earning a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering at Purdue," says Wattelet.
Wattelet began his career at the Westinghouse Electric Corp., where he helped to design and perform safety analyses on nuclear reactors. He joined Sargent & Lundy in 1972 as a supervisor and advanced through a variety of positions during the next 32 years. Under his leadership, the firm developed new opportunities in nuclear, fossil, and alternative energy power plants.
The recipient of a 2010 Professional Achievement Award from IIT, Wattelet shared his professional experiences and outcomes in the book Managing To Get It Done: A Manifesto on Business Sustainability from the CEO of a Company that Has Been Managing To Get It Done for Over 100 Years, published in 2001.