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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.
Technical Session|Nuclear Thermal Propulsion
Wednesday, May 8, 2024|3:15–4:55PM MDT|Coronado/DeVargas
Session Chair:
Timothy Schriener (University of New Mexico)
Alternate Chair:
Randy Bell (Aerospace Corp.)
Session Organizer:
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Designing a Nuclear Thermal Propulsion Experiment for Irradiation in a Nuclear Reactor
3:15–3:40PM MDT
Harmon Veselka (INL), Austen Fradeneck (INL)
Paper
Design and Testing of a Heat Transfer Experiment for a Centrifugal Nuclear Thermal Rocket
3:40–4:05PM MDT
Joel Krakower (Drexel Univ.), Nicholson Dunavan (Delta Research), Dominyck Darlington (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Univ.), Kylie Braunhardt (New Mexico State), Ines de Villarreal (Univ. Illinois, Urbana-Champaign), Zach Smith (Ohio State)
Development of Prototypic Centrifugal Fuel Element Test Stand for Centrifugal Nuclear Thermal Propulsion Engine
4:05–4:30PM MDT
Spencer Christian (Ohio State), Calvin Chandler (Ohio State), John M. Horack (Ohio State)
Parahydrogen Properties Version 05 Database Release for Nuclear Thermal Propulsion Applications
4:30–4:55PM MDT
Corey D. Smith (Analytical Mechanics Assoc.), Adam D. Boylston (Analytical Mechanics Assoc.), Jonathan P. McDonald (KBR Wyle Services)
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