Titans Of Nuclear | Interviewing World Experts on Nuclear Energy

Episode Content: Tara's start as an archaeologist at Hanford Cultural Resources Laboratory.   An explanation of the National Environmental Policy Act.   A breakdown of environmental assessments and impact statements.   The process of acquiring permits and the necessity of mitigating environmental impact.   The Nuclear Renaissance and whether there is a second Renaissance emerging.   The types of l...

Episode Content: Steve's start working on Probabilistic Risk Assessment with the UK Energy Authority.    Sizewell B and the significance of the Wash 1400 safety study.    Risk assessment v. risk perception.   The definition of risk and why it is important to analyze it.   The industry's transition to utilizing a risk-informed approach in design.   A breakdown of the categorization of nuclear facil...

Episode Content: Ed's start at the US Department of Energy doing nuclear non-proliferation security work.   The decisions behind Dirty Bomb Threat Reduction and Global Threat Reduction Initiative.   The US' responsibility to continue its high standard of security and safety.   How the US can compete against Russia and China's state-financed nuclear industries.   The Department of Energy's role in...

Episode Content: ​ Bill's introduction to the nuclear industry through a co-op program at Drexel University.   The importance of the design of a power plant and the logistics of its constructibility.   The Nuclear Quality Assurance Requirements and the emergence of larger plants.   Mitigating concerns, regulatory-driven changes after the Three Mile Island Accident.   Prudence Litigation and the fi...

Jim's start as an extraterrestrial scientist and coordinator of shuttle activities.   Transition to nuclear waste as he moved to PNNL as a geology pair with his wife, Judith.   3 styles of decision making in science policy: ignore science, make it the basis of the decision, retroactively justify the decision with science.    Yucca Mountain is the wrong rock, dripping wet and corrosive.   WIPP Carl...

Amy's work at the NRC's atomic safety licensing board on waste and interim storage.   An overview of nuclear liability and explanation of the Price-Anderson act.   Deploying technology abroad, the nuclear export control regime, 10CFR- Part 810, general & specific authorizations, 123 agreements, political considerations.    The ability of national security to drive legal policies and decisions.    ...

Episode Content: ​ Josh's journey from American political history to Nuclear advocacy Storytelling as a tool to motivate action Third Way's focus areas, clean energy policies, and how they found advanced nuclear How climate change and natural gas changed the perception and rules of energy Identifying key changes such as: access to the lab & regulatory modernization Questioning the role of public p...

Episode Content: Rita's start in Materials Engineering at MIT, her transition into the space research world Her work at Westinghouse in their fuel fabrication facility Scouting "Game Changing" technologies across robotics, advanced reactors, advanced chemical engineering, advanced manufacturing, digital instrumentation and control How her experience working between Westinghouse and the Labs helped...

Episode Content: The ARC origen story through resurrection of a decades old nuclear prototype EBR-2 A technical discussion on "closing the fuel cycle", "breeding", "electrochemical refining" The advantages of ARC from a Waste, Cost, Safety and matching market conditions A discussion of sodium and "pool type" vs "loop type" design A discussion of metallic uranium fuel vs uranium oxide Negative reac...

Episode Content: The origin story of Clearpath and politics role in the climate divide  The "full toolkit" solution to world energy The "more innovation and less regulation" approach to federal policy An explanation of Production Tax credits and how they fit into energy markets "Leveling the playing field" for zero emissions standards How they focus on the innovation and the government's role in R...

Episode Content: Mark's background in geology and how that ties in to spent fuel disposal His lab career starting at Los Alamos, then Argonne, then INL INL's history and role in developing nuclear technology New technologies that help bring advanced reactors to fruition Specifically how INL helps facilitate the commercialize new reactor technology How the National Labs work with industry and role...

Episode Content: John's career at the Department of Energy, the National Labs, as an ANS congressional fellow, and in the private sector Serving on the Blue Ribbon commission for nuclear waste management Why deployment time is key to cost reduction NEI's national nuclear energy strategy: Preserve, Sustain, Innovate, and Thrive An explanation of "negative pricing" and the unintended consequences of...

Episode Content: Jeff's earlier career as an NRC vendor inspector  The relationship between NRC and Industry including the balance of health and safety against cost and schedule  His work with Westinghouse bidding on an South African nuclear build and the story behind their attempted development of the pebble bed A description of the Pebble Bed technology advantages Further details on the X-energy...

Jessica's start in Astrophysics, transition to Energy, and how she joined Breakthrough The various topic areas the Breakthrough Institute focuses on and its origin story The biggest challenge of Nuclear being cost and how to approach building differently A review of modular construction techniques and readiness levels Deployment timelines and how to make nuclear innovative How construction costs d...

Episode Content: How Emma's personal experiences abroad developed her interest in energy issues Her dual participation in both technical research and social advocacy How she got involved in Mothers for Nuclear and focus of Students for Nuclear She discusses the relationship between INL and the several local universities Developing a model in the nuclear fuel model simulator Cyclus Then we do a dee...

Episode Content: ​ The basics of fuel fabrication What it's like to live in the community around and to work at a Nuclear Power plant A description of what happens when you reload fuel in a reactor His work with the Light Water Reactor sustainability program and how they design ways to extend the life of the existing fleet The function of the Advanced Test Reactor, the largest test reactor in the...

Episode Content: Her fascinating entrance to the Nuclear field at an incredibly young age An overview of space nuclear reactors The wide variety of the different projects she's participated in at INL She dives into energy availability intermittency and transmission Applying nuclear energy as an Industrial heat source, utilizing the steam for district heating, chemical process, water desalination,...

Episode Content: How Hans became interested in nuclear energy An overview of the of pebble bed technology physics and materials How high temperature can be safer than low temperature The ups and downs of interest in the technology He explains need to build expertise, infrastructure, modeling and new regulations just to lay the foundation for commercializing new technologies Why even a 50MW pilot p...

In part 1 of  5 in our special INL series we interview John Wagner, the Associate Laboratory Director of the Nuclear Science and Technology Directorate. If you're not familiar with the structure of the National lab hierarchy… that title is a big deal. In the first half of the episode we discuss:   John's entrance into the field and early experience at Oak Ridge National Labs His expertise on devel...

In this episode we interview Rachel Slaybaugh, who, before we were introduced, on three separate occasions was recommended as a must have on this program. She's a professor at UC Berkeley, founder of the Nuclear boot camp which we'll discuss shortly, and newest program director at ARPA-E. Today we discuss: - Rachel's introduction to nuclear science and technical expertise - The genesis of the worl...

In this episode we interview Eric Loewen, a leading Nuclear Scientist whose current work involves leading General Electric's efforts to deploy the integral fast reactor called PRISM. We discuss: His personal path through various nuclear institutions, work on climate change with congress, and current efforts GE's role in America's nuclear history A deep dive into the PRISM project and technology be...

In this episode we interview Todd Allen, one of the top U.S. experts in nuclear energy. Todd's played a critical role in supporting the advancement of the next generation of nuclear technologies serving roles throughout our national lab system, in academia, the think-tank world and more. In this episode Todd' reveals tremendous insights around: The function of our national lab system in prototypin...

In this episode we interview Per Peterson, professor at one of UC Berkeley's Nuclear reactors groups. He's the world expert on Fluoride Salt Cooled High Temperature reactors and a founder of Kairos Power, an Oakland, CA based nuclear startup, pursuing commercialization of that same technology. He has a lot of insight to share in this space including: The true cost drivers in plant construction and...

In this episode we interview Michael Shellenberger who has been on the forefront of nuclear advocacy for over a decade. He's the founder of Environmental Progress, a research and policy  organization, which in addition to putting together papers on Health and Safety, technology, innovation and economics also manages grassroots campaign efforts for preserving the existing Nuclear Fleet.   In this e...

Host, Bret Kugelmass, introduces his nuclear energy themed podcast explaining his motivations around climate change.