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Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
Standards Program
The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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AI at work: Southern Nuclear’s adoption of Copilot agents drives fleet forward
Southern Nuclear is leading the charge in artificial intelligence integration, with employee-developed applications driving efficiencies in maintenance, operations, safety, and performance.
The tools span all roles within the company, with thousands of documented uses throughout the fleet, including improved maintenance efficiency, risk awareness in maintenance activities, and better-informed decision-making. The data-intensive process of preparing for and executing maintenance operations is streamlined by leveraging AI to put the right information at the fingertips for maintenance leaders, planners, schedulers, engineers, and technicians.
Technical Session|Panel|Fuel Management
Tuesday, July 22, 2025|10:00AM–12:05PM EDT|Bay Room
Session Chair:
John C. Hannah
Session Organizer:
Alternate Chair:
Baxter Durham
The next few years bring the exciting prospect of new reactor designs achieving commercial operation with a diversity of technology and quantity that has not been seen for decades. With this new opportunity comes an old challenge - initial core design. These designs tend to be distinct from standard reloads in their fuel composition, which can lead to cycle-specific safety analysis and core management constraints. The fuel in initial cores must also support a range of new reactor commissioning and startup testing that can add requirements for flexibility and robustness through the first cycle of operation. At the same time, these startup tests provide a unique opportunity for validation of core management code systems through comparisons of model predictions against measured results. This panel will provide an opportunity to learn from recent experience in developing and implementing initial core designs and startup testing campaigns through a series of short presentations followed by a question and answer session.
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Attachment — Baxter
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