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Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
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On moving fast and breaking things
Craig Piercycpiercy@ans.org
So much of what is happening in federal nuclear policy these days seems driven by a common approach popularized in the technology sector. Silicon Valley calls it “move fast and break things,” a phrase originally associated with Facebook’s early culture under Mark Zuckerberg. The idea emerged in the early 2000s as software companies discovered that rapid iteration, frequent experimentation, and a willingness to tolerate failure could dramatically accelerate innovation. This philosophy helped drive the growth of the social media, smartphones, cloud computing, and digital platforms that now underpin modern economic and social life.
Today, that mindset is also influencing federal nuclear policy. The Trump administration views accelerated nuclear deployment as part of a broader competition with China for technological and AI leadership. In that context, it seems willing to accept greater operational risk in pursuit of strategic advantage and long-term economic and security objectives.
Technical Session|Fuel Cycles, Waste Management, and Decommissioning
Saturday, April 6, 2024|1:35–2:55PM EDT|Hammond Room 220
Session Chair:
Kelly Varnell (Penn State University)
Alternate Chair:
Stiphany Ta Tieu (Penn State University)
Session Organizer:
Jonathan B. Balog (Penn State University)
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An INDEPTH Analysis of Spent Pebbles
1:35–1:55PM EDT
Benjamin A. Impson (Virginia Commonwealth Univ.), Braden Goddard (Virginia Commonwealth Univ.), Zeyun Wu (Virginia Commonwealth Univ.)
Paper
Design and Fabrication of a Cone-Segments System to Implement Expansion Tests in Nuclear Fuel Cladding
1:55–2:15PM EDT
Lilith Miller (Virginia Commonwealth Univ.), Victoria Davis (Virginia Commonwealth Univ.), Braden Goddard (Virginia Commonwealth Univ.), Carlos Castano (Virginia Commonwealth Univ.), Reza Mohammadi (Virginia Commonwealth Univ.), Jessika V. Rojas (Virginia Commonwealth Univ.)
Combined Lattice Physics Fuel Management Optimization for Boiling Water Reactors
2:15–2:35PM EDT
Cole A. Howard (NCSU), Derek Freeman (NCSU), Joshua Yagozinski (NCSU), Jason Hou (NCSU)
Levelized Cost of Electricity for SMRs in the State of Virginia
2:35–2:55PM EDT
Ruben Glover (Virginia Commonwealth Univ.), Aristidis Loumis-Demetrakopoulos (Virginia Commonwealth Univ.), Supathorn Phongikaroon (Virginia Commonwealth Univ.), Oleg Korenok (Virginia Commonwealth Univ.)
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