Dr. Todd Combs

Biography

Dr. Todd Combs helps advance the nation’s energy and national security goals at Idaho National Laboratory in his roles as deputy laboratory director for Science and Technology and chief research officer. His leadership focuses on moving INL toward designing and demonstrating a new class of advanced nuclear technologies, building out the proving ground, and increasing the resiliency of the nation’s critical infrastructure. This will elevate INL’s research eminence and strengthen its recognition and position within the Department of Energy complex and broader scientific communities.

Combs joined INL in 2017 and previously served as associate laboratory director for INL’s Energy and Environment Science and Technology directorate. In this role, he managed 350-plus research staff members focused on advanced transportation, alternative energy integration, advanced manufacturing and environmental issues.

Before joining INL, Combs was director of the Global Security Sciences Division at Argonne National Laboratory, where he led a multidisciplinary research team of over 200 that found solutions to protect against, mitigate, respond to, and recover from a wide spectrum of national and global security threats. He also served nearly 14 months as Argonne’s interim associate laboratory director for Energy and Global Security. He led the applied research and development organization of over 800 people, addressing domestic and global sustainable energy and security issues. He oversaw research and operational activities of the energy systems, nuclear engineering and global security sciences division.

Combs began his DOE laboratory career in 2008 at Oak Ridge National Laboratory as an operations research scientist. He left for Argonne in 2012 while serving as group leader for Transportation Planning and Decision Science. His research has included energy systems modeling and analysis for DOE, including critical materials supply chains, as well as the application of modeling and simulation to national and homeland security issues for the departments of Defense and Homeland Security.

Combs is a member of the Boise State University College of Engineering Industrial Advisory Board and Idaho’s Higher Education Research Council committee. He previously served as chair of the Idaho Strategic Energy Alliance, a board that informs the governor and other leaders on state energy issues. He also serves on the Idaho Falls Symphony board of directors. Since 2025, he has served in the following areas: Co-chair of the Colorado School of Mines Energy Advisory Board; member of the state of Utah Energy Research Board; member of the Arizona State University School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy (SEMTE) External Advisory Board; and as a State committee member of the Idaho Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). He also served in that role with EPSCoR from 2018-19.

Combs earned his doctorate in operations research and master’s in operations analysis from the Air Force Institute of Technology, and is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. A retired colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, his military experience includes assignments at the Air Force Research Laboratory, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, and the Air Force Studies and Analyses Agency.