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Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
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Getting back to yes: A local perspective on decommissioning, restart, and responsibility
For 45 years, Duane Arnold Energy Center operated in Linn County, Ia., near the town of Palo and just northwest of Cedar Rapids. The facility, owned by NextEra Energy, was the only nuclear power plant in the state.
In August 2020, a historic derecho swept across eastern Iowa with winds approaching 140 miles per hour. Damage to the plant’s cooling towers accelerated a shutdown that had already been planned, and the facility entered decommissioning soon after, with its fuel removed in October of that year. Iowa’s only nuclear plant had gone off line.
Today the national energy landscape looks very different than it did just six short years ago. Electricity demand is rising rapidly as data centers, artificial intelligence infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, and electrification expand across the country. Reliable, carbon-free baseload power has become increasingly valuable. In that context, Linn County has approved the rezoning necessary to support the recommissioning and restart of Duane Arnold and is actively supporting NextEra’s efforts to secure the remaining state and federal approvals.
VIEW RECIPIENTSSUBMIT NOMINATION
Nomination Deadline
August 1
Presented at the
Winter Conference
Monetary Award
$1,000
The Theos J. (Tommy) Thompson Award to recognize outstanding lifetime contributions to the field of nuclear reactor safety.
Nominees need not be ANS members.
The award consists of a plaque and a $1,000 monetary award which is presented by the chair of NISD during the ANS Winter Conference each year.
This award was established by the Nuclear Installations Safety Division (formerly the Nuclear Reactor Safety Division) in 1980 as a memorial award to the late Professor Theos J. (Tommy) Thompson of MIT, who made outstanding contributions to nuclear reactor safety, including being the principal author of a pioneering textbook on the subject. This award is funded by the operating budget of NISD.
The NISD Honors and Awards Committee administers this award. That committee establishes the evaluation criteria, solicits the nominations, and determines the recipient. The award is made to individuals selected by the NISD Honors and Awards Committee in recognition of outstanding contributions in the field of nuclear reactor safety. The ANS Honors and Awards Committee is available for consultation and review as appropriate.
Nominations must include the completed nomination form accompanied by the following supporting documents:
View Award
