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Conference Spotlight
2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
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Nuclear Science and Engineering
September 2026
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August 2026
Latest News
Oklo’s Isotope Test Reactor achieves criticality
Oklo’s Groves Isotope Test Reactor became the fifth Department of Energy–authorized reactor to achieve criticality under the agency’s authorization process, it was announced earlier today.
Criticality was reached at 9:19 p.m. (EDT) on Wednesday at the company’s Groves facility in Lockhart, Texas, according to the DOE.
Technical Session|Fission Surface Power
Wednesday, May 7, 2025|1:00–2:40PM CDT|Salon EF (Marriott)
Session Chair:
Mark Lefebvre (NASA Glenn Research Center)
Session Organizer:
Alternate Chair:
Greg Fedor (NASA Glenn Research Center)
Track Organizer:
Harold Gerrish (Marshall Space Flight Center)
Space fission power systems will require extensive developmental and qualification testing prior to launch and in-space operations. This technical session will offer insight into several recent test efforts, including discussions of the test preparations, design and fabrication of test support equipment, and summaries of test results. Presenter bios: Luke Hansen is a Ph.D. student at the University of Tennessee Knoxville studying advanced fabrication techniques of thermoelectric materials for radioisotope thermoelectric generators.
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Design Methodology of a Pressurized Irradiation Test Apparatus for Stirling Convertor Organics in the Fission Surface Power Project
1:00–1:25PM CDT
Luke R. Hansen (Univ. Tennessee, Knoxville), Tyler R. Steiner (NASA Glenn Research Center), Brandon A. Wilson (ORNL), Michael T. Barron (Jacobs Technology)
Paper
Preliminary Findings of Lunar Dust Testing on Radiator Performance
1:25–1:50PM CDT
Ronald Leibach (NASA), Greeta Thaikattil (NASA), James Sanzi (HX5, LLC), Meghan Bush (NASA)
Impedance Spectroscopy for Unraveling Self-Healing Mechanisms in Half-Heusler Thermoelectric Alloys
1:50–2:15PM CDT
Oliver Jeffery (Univ. Leicester), Agostino Maurotto (Univ. Leicester), Pierluigi Chiovaro (Univ. Palermo), Pietro Alessandro Di Maio (Univ. Palermo), Richard M. Ambrosi (Univ. Leicester), Ramy Mesalam (Univ. Leicester)
