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Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
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Feb 2026
Jul 2025
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Nuclear Science and Engineering
March 2026
Nuclear Technology
February 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
January 2026
Latest News
Fusion energy: Progress, partnerships, and the path to deployment
Over the past decade, fusion energy has moved decisively from scientific aspiration toward a credible pathway to a new energy technology. Thanks to long-term federal support, we have significantly advanced our fundamental understanding of plasma physics—the behavior of the superheated gases at the heart of fusion devices. This knowledge will enable the creation and control of fusion fuel under conditions required for future power plants. Our progress is exemplified by breakthroughs at the National Ignition Facility and the Joint European Torus.
Advanced Reactor Safety (ARS) SPeaker
Dr. Lester Towell is the Director of Operations at ACU’s NEXT Lab.
Dr. Towell earned his bachelor’s degree in Engineering Physics from Abilene Christian University in 1990. For the next four years, he served in the US Navy as an instructor at the Naval Nuclear Power School in Orlando, FL where he taught Reactor Principles and Physics. In 1995, Dr. Towell joined the Computer Information Systems department at Howard Payne University and moved to the Nuclear Energy eXperimental Testing (NEXT) Lab at ACU in 2020 as the licensing manager for the first university advanced reactor in the country.
Currently, Dr. Towell serves as the Director of Operations for the NEXT Lab at ACU which is designing the world’s first molten salt research reactor. The mission of the ACU NEXT Lab is to provide global solutions to the world’s critical need for energy, water, and medical isotopes by advancing the technology of molten salt reactors while educating future leaders in nuclear science and engineering.
Last modified April 3, 2024, 6:44am PDT
