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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|Fission Surface Power
Monday, May 5, 2025|1:00–2:40PM CDT|Atlantis/Discovery/Columbia (Marriott)
Session Chair:
Mark Lefebvre (NASA Glenn Research Center)
Session Organizer:
Alternate Chair:
Robert Okojie (NASA Glenn Research Center)
Track Organizer:
Harold Gerrish (Marshall Space Flight Center)
Space fission power systems will require development of novel materials and manufacturing techniques to withstand the harsh combined space and radiation environment. This technical session will offer insight into several recent activities relating to the analysis and development of advanced manufacturing techniques as well as discussions of the challenges facing neutron moderator materials in space.
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Optimizing Additive Manufacturing of Metallic Hydrides Using Cellulose-Based Hydrogels for Advanced Reactor Applications
1:00–1:25PM CDT
Timothy F. DeFranco (Univ. Michigan, Ann Arbor), Kevin G. Field (Univ. Michigan, Ann Arbor)
Paper
The Difficulties of Using a Neutron Moderator in Space Reactors
1:25–1:50PM CDT
David I. Poston (Space Nuclear Power Corp.)
Experimental Analysis of Radiation Shielding Performance of Sintered, Cast, and 3D-Printed Lunar Regolith for Space Applications
1:50–2:15PM CDT
Joshua Gogolski (Pajarito Scientific Co.)
Fabrication of Inconel 718-CNT Composites for Structural Nuclear Applications
2:15–2:40PM CDT
Matthew J. Lynch (Univ. Michigan), Mirza A. Shawon (Stony Brook Univ.), Jason R. Trelewicz (Stony Brook Univ.), Kevin G. Field (Univ. Michigan)
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