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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.
May 8–12, 2022
Cleveland, OH|The Westin Cleveland Downtown
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NETS 2022 Registrants:
We hope you all enjoyed the Nuclear and Emerging Technologies for Space (NETS 2022) conference held May 8-12 in Cleveland, OH. It was an amazing week with stimulating speakers and lively topics on space nuclear systems. The city of Cleveland contributed with outstanding weather and a welcoming downtown venue. The conference was capped with a fascinating behind-the-scenes tour at NASA Glenn Research Center. This year’s conference set records for the number of registrants (375) and the number of technical papers (146). We are looking forward to another successful meeting next year in Idaho Falls, with DOE’s Idaho National Laboratory serving as the host organization. Watch for notices coming soon from ANS about NETS 2023 and mark your calendar for May 7-12, 2023!
The Technical Program Chairs, Lee Mason and Michael Smith, and the Publications Chair, Austen Fradeneck, would like to announce the following best paper selections for NETS 2022:
Best Radioisotope Power Paper
GPHS Heritage-Like SiGe Unicouple Development with SiGe and SiMo Materials Prepared by Spark Plasma Sintering by Rama Venkatasubramanian, Jonathan Pierce, Richard Ung, Jake Ballard, Priestly Shuler (Johns Hopkins APL), Joseph Poon, Mousumi Mitra (Univ. Virginia, Charlottesville), Scott Misture (Alfred Univ.), Tim Erickson, and Paul Ostdiek (Johns Hopkins APL)
Best Fission Power Paper
Neutronics and Heat-Transfer Analysis of a Compact kW-Class Moderated Spectrum Reactor by Vedant K. Mehta, Aditya P. Shivprasad, and Dasari V. Rao (LANL)
Best Fission Propulsion Paper
Modeling of System Response to Faulted Operation of Nuclear Thermal Rocket Engine by Jordan D. Rader (ORNL)
Best Student Paper
One-Dimensional Steady-State Thermal Model of CNTP Reactor by Jacob Keese and D. Keith Hollingsworth (Univ. Alabama, Huntsville)
Among the many great papers presented at NETS, these stood out for their quality, content, and impact. Each of the first authors will receive a certificate and plaque to recognize their contribution to NETS 2022. The authors will also be invited to submit an expanded version of their paper to the ANS Journal, Nuclear Technology.
Thanks again for your attendance at NETS. We look forward to seeing you at next year’s event!
The NETS 2022 Organizing Committee
General ChairBryan K. SmithDirector of Facilities, Test, and ManufacturingGlenn Research Center
MONDAY, MAY 9, 2022 | 8:30–9:00AMINTRODUCTION & WELCOME
Monday, May 9, 2022 | 9:00–10:30AM Plenary I - Emerging Trends in Nuclear Energy
Tuesday, May 10, 2022 | 8:30–10:00AMPlenary II - NASA Mission Pull for Nuclear
Wednesday, May 11, 2022 | 8:30–10:00AM Plenary III - DOD Mission Pull for Nuclear
Thursday, May 12, 2022 | 8:30–9:30AMPlenary IV - Educating the Workforce
All exhibitors will also be acknowledged on the ANS website, at the Opening Plenary and on signage displayed throughout the meeting. Exhibitors also have the option to have their name placed on promotional items.
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