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2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
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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
Thursday, June 17, 2021|10:00–11:45AM EDT
Session Chair:
Zhouxiang Fei (University of Strathclyde)
Alternate Chair:
Hyun Gook Kang (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute)
Session Organizer:
Jamie B. Coble (University of Tennessee-Knoxville)
Staff Producer:
Ashley Jiminian (ANS)
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Trends for Field Programmable Gate Array Technology and Implications for Safety Critical Applications in Nuclear Power Plants
Mark Burzynski (SunPort), Sean Kelley (SunPort)
Paper
An Isolation Design Strategy for Implementing Secure and Safety-Critical Applications in FPGA
Abhi D. Rajagopala (Virginia Commonwealth Univ.), Smitha Gautham (Virginia Commonwealth Univ.), Carl Elks (Virginia Commonwealth Univ.)
Safety Instrumentation and Control Technologies for Small Modular Reactors and Advanced Reactors
Arnaud Duthou (Rolls-Royce Civil Nuclear)
Presentation Video (Visible to Attendees)
Safety-Related Instrumentation and Control Pilot Upgrade: Initial Scoping Phase Implementation and Lessons Learned
Paul Hunton (INL), Robert England (INL), Gerald Segner (Exelon Generation), Mark Samselski (Exelon Generation), David Herrell (MPR Assoc.), William Jessup (MPR Assoc.), Sean Lawrie (ScottMadden Inc.), Mike Kerrigan (ScottMadden Inc.)
Potential Use of Thinklogical's KVM Technology in Safety Applications
Richard Turk (Technology Resources), Richard Cooper (Thinklogical), James Gleason (GLSEQ), David Herrell (MPR Assoc.)
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