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Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
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Latest News
RIC panel discusses pathway to fusion commercialization
Fusion leaders at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s annual Regulatory Information Conference discussed the path forward for regulating the burgeoning fusion industry. The speakers discussed government and private industry initiatives in the United States and United Kingdom, with a focus on efforts shaping the near-term deployment of commercial fusion machines.
A recurring theme was the need to explain the difference between fission and fusion. Representatives from the Department of Energy and Type One Energy highlighted this as an important distinction for regulators, as it will allow fusion to undergo its own independent maturation process for developing standards and regulations in the same way that fission has. Lea Perlas, Fusion Program director at the Virginia Department of Health, said that confusion between fission and fusion has been a common cause for misplaced concerns among community members surrounding Commonwealth Fusion Systems’ proposed fusion plant site near Richmond, Va.
Nuclear and Emerging Technologies for Space (NETS-2022) Plenary SPeaker
Propulsion and Nuclear Scientist,Defense Innovation Unit
NASA
Maj Ryan Weed is a physicist and USAF Experimental Test Pilot, logging over 2000 hours in more than 30 different aircraft. Ryan is a NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Fellow, studying radioisotope positron propulsion systems. He has worked at Blue Origin, where he designed and implemented an Instrumentation laboratory for cryogenic rocket fuels, and founded Positron Dynamics, where he designed and built a positron beamline facility and developed high specific impulse propulsion concepts. Ryan earned a B.A in Physics from Wesleyan University, B.S. in Applied Physics from Columbia University, M.Sc. in Flight Test Engineering from Air University, and PhD in Physics from Australian National University. In his current role at DIU, Ryan manages the Nuclear Propulsion and Power program within the Space Portfolio.
Last modified April 5, 2022, 9:19am EDT
