Donald Ofte

Donald Ofte, of Easton, MD, died on Tuesday, March 4 at the age of 84. Mr. Ofte's 50-plus year career spanning the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA), DOE and private consulting included nuclear weapons development, production and retirement, as well as developing the heat source used to power the radioisotope thermocouple generators (RTGs) left on the moon by Apollo astronauts to power lunar experiments. After serving as an officer in the Navy in the mid-1950s, Ofte joined Mound Laboratories in Miamisburg, OH, an AEC facility for nuclear weapon research during the Cold War. There Ofte became the first person to measure the viscosities of molten Plutonium (Pu) and Uranium (U) and invented a new plasma torch process to manufacture Plutonium Dioxide (PuO2) microspheres, for which Ofte holds a patent. In 1967, he joined the AEC to lead Space and Special Programs in the AECs Albuquerque offices. That team developed the radioisotope thermocouple generators (the SNAP 27) that continue to power experiments left on the moon by Apollo astronauts. The heat source for the SNAP 27 is the PuO2 microspheres Ofte developed at Mound Laboratories, and this technology remains the primary method of powering space equipment like the Curiosity robot now exploring the surface of Mars. Ofte managed a series of nuclear weapon production sites in New Mexico, Colorado, Florida, and Idaho. He was the DOE Manager at the Rocky Flats Plant, a nuclear weapons production facility located near Denver, CO, and the Idaho National Laboratory, the nation’s lead nuclear reactor research and development facility and the largest employer in the state of Idaho. His federal career culminated in the position of Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Defense Programs (DP) for the DOE in Washington, DC. DP was responsible for directing the US programs for the research, development, production and retirement of nuclear weapons. Ofte participated on the team negotiating the INF treaty with the then Soviet Union, and worked on the Salt II treaty as well. After retiring from the DOE, Ofte was a nuclear consultant for many years, including a two year position as president of FERMCO, undertaking the decontamination, dismantlement and restoration of the Fernald Plant in Ohio, a major DOE uranium processing plant. In 2011, Ofte was honored as one of five awardees at NASA’s 50th Anniversary of a Half Century of Space Nuclear Flight, where he was recognized as a pioneer for his contributions at AEC’s Mound Laboratories. He is also the recipient of the DOE Distinguished Career Service Award and Meritorious Service Award. Mr. Ofte is survived by his sister, Gail Ofte Atha of Salem, VA, and his three children, Marc Ofte of Midlothian, VA, Nancy Appleby of Arlington, VA, and Kirk Ofte of Tempe, AZ. His wife of 56 years, the former Margaret “Meg” McHenney, died in 2012. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. at Fellows, Helfenbein and Newnam Funeral Home, P.A., 200 S. Harrison St., Easton, MD on Saturday, March 29, 2014, with a visitation from 10 – 11 a.m. A reception will follow the interment at Oxford Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Talbot Hospice Foundation, 586 Cynwood Dr., Easton, MD 21601, or Mound Science and Energy Museum Association, 1075 Mound Road, Miamisburg, OH 45342, or The National Museum of Nuclear Science and History, 601 Eubank, Albuquerque, NM 87123.

Donald Ofte

August 23, 1929 - March 4, 2014