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On moving fast and breaking things
Craig Piercycpiercy@ans.org
So much of what is happening in federal nuclear policy these days seems driven by a common approach popularized in the technology sector. Silicon Valley calls it “move fast and break things,” a phrase originally associated with Facebook’s early culture under Mark Zuckerberg. The idea emerged in the early 2000s as software companies discovered that rapid iteration, frequent experimentation, and a willingness to tolerate failure could dramatically accelerate innovation. This philosophy helped drive the growth of the social media, smartphones, cloud computing, and digital platforms that now underpin modern economic and social life.
Today, that mindset is also influencing federal nuclear policy. The Trump administration views accelerated nuclear deployment as part of a broader competition with China for technological and AI leadership. In that context, it seems willing to accept greater operational risk in pursuit of strategic advantage and long-term economic and security objectives.
12th Nuclear Plant Instrumentation, Control and Human-Machine Interface Technologies (NPIC&HMIT 2021)
Technical Session|Panel
Thursday, June 17, 2021|10:00–11:45AM EDT
Session Chair:
Alexander H. Hashemian
Session Organizer:
Alternate Chair:
Shawn N. Tyler
Staff Producer:
Kathy Murdoch (ANS)
I&C system technologies are essential to the safe and efficient operation of the next generation of nuclear reactors. Speakers in this panel represent DOE national laboratories, the US NRC, and private industry and will share their unique insight and experiences with I&C technologies currently under development including sensors to support structural health monitoring and autonomous operations.
Shawn Tyler
AMS Corporation
Thomas Tweedle
Westinghouse
Christian Petrie
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Richard Skifton
Idaho National Laboratory
Gordon Procter
UltraSafe Nuclear Corporation
Dinesh Taneja
USNRC
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