Nathan Block

About Nathan Block

Nathan is a seasoned Professional Engineer with over two decades of experience in engineering, business, and investing. Based in North Carolina, he co-owns multiple businesses, including Red Wolf Associates, an engineering firm specializing in first-of-a-kind engineering solutions for the nuclear power industry. He also serves as the Chief Information Officer for a private equity firm where he leverages technology to streamline deal assessments, acquisitions and management of the firm and portfolio companies.Nathan\'s technical expertise encompasses advanced engineering analyses for the nuclear power industry, such as safety and thermal hydraulics, HVAC design, radiological dose assessment, and equipment qualification. He is recognized for pioneering solutions that address safety issues, reduce regulatory burdens and optimize operational costs in the legacy nuclear fleet. He also has experience developing and integrating bespoke and off-the-shelf software solutions to maximize productivity and profitability. Nathan also develops innovative engineering methods for analysis for advanced and small modular reactors under both historical and modern licensing frameworks.After earning both Bachelor\'s and Master\'s degrees in Mechanical Engineering from NC State University, he co-founded his engineering firm at the age of 26. In this role with P&L responsibilities, Nathan manages staff, leads technical work, performs business development activities, and manages the tech stack. His deep understanding of advanced technical and engineering subjects, business operations, and investment and growth strategies provides a unique perspective of the ‘big picture’ to navigate challenging business environments for some of the most complex and cost-intensive projects.In his personal life, Nathan enjoys spending time with his wife and two daughters, serving in the tech ministry at his church, and pursuing his interests in technology and business. His commitment to continuous learning and problem-solving drives him to create meaningful impacts across his professional and personal endeavors.

Experience

1. Principal Consultant

   Red Wolf Associates

   Apr 2009 — Present · Cary, NC, US

   At Red Wolf Associates, Nathan leads a wide range of advanced engineering projects, specializing in safety analysis and thermal hydraulics, containment analysis, HVAC design, radiological dose assessment, and equipment qualification. As a subject matter expert, he provides oversight, technical guidance, and innovative solutions to address complex challenges, including regulatory compliance and operational optimization. • Directed the development of advanced thermal-fluids analyses for numerous nuclear plants, reducing regulatory burdens and saving millions in operational and capital costs. • Led multi-disciplinary teams to deliver first-of-a-kind engineering solutions for clients, resulting in substantial capital and O&M savings. • Demonstrates SME-level expertise and experience with GOTHIC, advanced-level knowledge of RELAP, TRACE, FATHOM, HASS, HABIT, ORIGEN, RADTRAD, and MicroShield, and intermediate level knowledge of SAS4A/SASSYS-1. • Developed software and engineering tools, including under 10CFR50 Appendix B QA Programs, using C, C++, Fortran, VBA, and Python. • Created FAIK methods to qualify containment ventilation fan motors for operation without cooling water flow. The analysis utilized advanced GOTHIC code features to provide analyses to demonstrate that equipment would operate within its design limits, avoiding motor replacement costs exceeding $8M for a dual-unit site. • Created custom software engineering tools to standardize EQ qualified life calculations required for Subsequent License Renewal. Implementation significantly reduce the effort required to revise 130+ qualification packages, resulting an estimated savings of $275K with an ROI of greater than 900%.

Education

• North Carolina State University

  M.S., Mechanical Engineering

  2003 — 2005

• North Carolina State University

  B.S., Mechanical Engineering

  1999 — 2002

Skills

• Engineering Management
• Simulations
• Engineering Analysis
• Energy
• Process Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering
• Energy Management
• Finite Element Analysis
• Flex
• Design Engineering
• Fortran
• Gothic
• Retran
• Engineering
• Thermodynamics
• Piping
• Inspection
• Dose
• Hvac Analysis
• Nuclear
• Nuclear Engineering
• Power Generation
• Engineering Design
• Pumps
• Water
• Relap
• Maap
• Hvac
• Power Plants
• Quality Assurance
• Project Engineering
• Cfd
• Heat Transfer
• Fluid Mechanics
• Thermal Hydraulic Analysis
• Fukushima
• Reliability Engineering