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Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
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Nuclear Science and Engineering
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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.
10:00–11:40AM MDT
Sweeney B|Fission Surface Power/Nuclear Electric Propulsion
Session Chair: Andrew Zillmer|Alternate Chair: Aditya Shivprasad
Coronado/DeVargas|Nuclear Thermal Propulsion
Session Chair: Christopher (Britton) Reynolds|Alternate Chair: Randy Bell
Panel|Sweeney F|Radioisotope Power Systems
Session Chair: Harsh Desai|Alternate Chair: Harsh Desai
Sweeney A|Radioisotope Power Systems
Session Chair: Nick R. Wozniak|Alternate Chairs: Nick R. Wozniak, Lauren Nelson
1:00–2:40PM MDT
Panel|Sweeney F|Fission Surface Power/Nuclear Electric Propulsion
Session Chair: Lindsay Kaldon|Alternate Chair: Vedant Mehta
Sweeney B|Nuclear Thermal Propulsion
Session Chair: Minghui Chen|Alternate Chair: Katey Lenox
Session Chair: Stacey L. Eaton|Alternate Chair: Ari Foley
3:15–4:55PM MDT
Session Chair: N. Dianne B. Ezell|Alternate Chair: Scott Wilson
Session Chair: Erofil Kardoulaki|Alternate Chair: Scarlett W. Paisner
Panel|Sweeney F|Nuclear Thermal Propulsion
Session Chairs: Lee S. Mason, Mohamed El-Genk
Session Chair: Gabrielle Lee|Alternate Chairs: Gabrielle Lee, Timothy Schriener
Session Chair: Michael C. Miller|Alternate Chair: Georgette Alexander-Morrison
Session Chair: Kate Kelly|Alternate Chair: Holly R. Trellue
Session Chair: Lindsey Holmes|Alternate Chair: Lindsey Holmes
Session Chair: Jake R. Matthews|Alternate Chair: Robert Wingo
Session Chair: Randy Bell|Alternate Chair: Andrew Zillmer
Session Chair: Katey Lenox|Alternate Chair: Mohamed El-Genk
Session Chair: Elizabeth Bluhm|Alternate Chair: Adam Parkison
Session Chair: Mikaela Blood|Alternate Chair: Mikaela Blood
Session Chair: Timothy Schriener|Alternate Chair: Randy Bell
Session Chair: Duane Barber|Alternate Chair: Duane Barber
Session Chair: Timothy Reuter
Session Chair: Scott Wilson|Alternate Chair: N. Dianne B. Ezell
Session Chair: Mikaela Blood|Alternate Chair: Katey Lenox
Session Chair: Nick Wozniak|Alternate Chair: Joe Giglio
11:40AM–1:00PM MDT
Sweeney CDE|Poster Session
Session Chair: Holly R. Trellue|Alternate Chair: Holly R. Trellue
Session Chair: Aditya Shivprasad|Alternate Chair: Caitlin A. Kohnert
Coronado/DeVargas|Nuclear Thermal Propulsion|Cosponsored by Radioisotope Power Systems
Session Chair: Stacey L. Eaton|Alternate Chair: Holly R. Trellue
Session Chair: Roberta Mulford|Alternate Chair: Amanda Robertson
Session Chair: Georgette Alexander-Morrison|Alternate Chair: Aditya Shivprasad
Session Chair: Doug Burns|Alternate Chair: Doug Burns
Session Chair: Tim Tinsley|Alternate Chairs: Tim Tinsley, Tim Gregory
