The Shaw Group and the University of Missouri Jointly Seek Management and Operations Contract for the Idaho National Laboratory

Business Wire, August 25, 2004

BATON ROUGE, La. -- "Our team will lead the effort to reinvigorate the U.S. nuclear industry which is vital to the energy security of this country," said J.M. Bernhard, Jr., Chairman and CEO of Shaw.

The Shaw Group Inc. (NYSE:SGR) announced today that Shaw Environmental & Infrastructure, Inc. (Shaw E & I) and the University of Missouri (UM) are jointly seeking the management and operations contract for the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Shaw E & I is the majority owner of Shaw Missouri Idaho LLC which was formed with UM to pursue the INL contract.

Shaw Missouri Idaho LLC has assembled an integrated world-class team of companies and universities with superb credentials in nuclear technology design, development, and operations, multi-disciplinary basic and applied R&D, mission development, and facility and infrastructure management. Team members include Concurrent Technologies Corporation (CTC), AECL Technologies, Inc. (Atomic Energy Canada, Ltd.), American Operations Corporation (AOC), TIAX LLC, and Iowa State University. The team is further enhanced by the prominent role that will be played by Idaho State University, the University of Idaho and Boise State University, each of which has special competencies and a vital regional presence.

J.M. Bernhard, Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Shaw Group Inc., who recently testified regarding nuclear energy before the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, said, "Our team will lead the effort to reinvigorate the U.S. nuclear industry which is vital to the energy security of this country."

"Our team is focused on making the INL the preeminent, internationally recognized laboratory for nuclear energy research, development, engineering, and education," said Dr. Edgar Berkey, the Shaw Missouri Idaho team's proposed Laboratory Director. "We also intend to establish the INL as a major center for national security technology development and demonstration and help it grow in stature as a multi-program national laboratory with world-class capabilities. Our plan is to establish programs to attract, motivate, and retain talented scientists and engineers. Our goal is to foster new academic, industry, government, and international collaborations to produce the investment, programs, and expertise to ensure DOE's vision becomes reality." Dr. Berkey has a Ph.D. in Nuclear Science and Engineering from Cornell University and has more than 37 years of experience in multi-program R&D management, nuclear and energy development, and entrepreneurial and executive leadership.

The Shaw Missouri Idaho team will draw upon the expertise of Shaw's Stone & Webster unit, an architect/engineering and construction organization that is one of the few commercial operations that can trace their nuclear roots to the first days of the Manhattan Project in the early 1940s. Shaw's nuclear leadership has been enhanced over the years by its distinguished record of significant commercial nuclear plant experience and DOE first-of-a-kind facility design and construction projects, such as the Mixed-Oxide (MOX) Fuel Fabrication Facility at DOE's Savannah River Site.

The University of Missouri (UM) provides an exceptionally strong nuclear engineering educational component as well as a distinguished R&D management structure overseeing more than $250 million in research annually. The National Science Foundation recently ranked the University of Missouri among the nation's top ten universities for integrating research and education. According to Dr. Elson Floyd, President of the University of Missouri, "We are excited about the opportunity to provide research expertise and supply the future generation of engineers and scientists needed to assure our nation's future energy needs are met." UM has two operating nuclear reactors, one of which is the largest university research reactor in the nation. The university will help set the standard for isotope research and production, materials testing, and reactor services internationally.

The Shaw Missouri Idaho team is composed of organizations capable of leading the INL to world-class status. CTC, a not-for-profit, applied research, development and technology-transitioning company, has core competencies in national security, energy, science, and information technology and operates four national centers of excellence for the DOD. AECL Technologies, Inc., a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of Atomic Energy Canada, Limited, specializes in design and development of nuclear reactors and operates four major nuclear R&D laboratories. AOC is a premier mission development firm. TIAX is a leader in developing and commercializing a wide range of new technologies. Iowa State University operates the Ames Laboratory for the DOE. The UM-led consortium of universities that includes Idaho State University, the University of Idaho, Boise State University and others provides access to a national network of nuclear science and engineering education and related research programs.