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Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
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Panelists discuss U.S. path to criticality in ANS webinar
The American Nuclear Society recently hosted a panel discussion featuring prominent figures from the nuclear sector who discussed the industry’s ongoing push for criticality.
Yasir Arafat, chief technical officer of Aalo Atomics; Jordan Bramble, CEO of Antares Nuclear; and Rita Baranwal, chief nuclear officer of Radiant Industries, participated in the discussion and covered their recent progress in the Department of Energy’s Reactor Pilot Program. Nader Satvat, director of nuclear systems design at Kairos Power, gave an update on the company’s ongoing demonstration projects taking place outside of the landscape of DOE authorization.
Technical Session|Panel|Panels
Friday, April 4, 2025|2:40–4:00PM MDT|Lobo AB
Session Chair:
Christopher M. Perfetti
Alternate Chair:
Ethan S. Krammer
Session Organizer:
Ashley Machado
We’re thrilled to welcome three distinguished speakers to our panel series: Charles Oppenheimer, Edward Blandford, and Nancy Jo Nicholas! Charles Oppenheimer is the founder of the Oppenheimer Project - a non-profit dedicated to promoting J. Robert Oppenheimer’s vision of international cooperation. He is also the founder and CEO of the startup Oppenheimer Energy, focused on fission energy projects. Dr. Edward Blandford is a Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer of Kairos Power. He is responsible for all KP-FHR engineering and technology development functions within the company. Dr. Nancy Jo Nicholas is the associate director for Global Security at LANL where she leads programs in Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, Nuclear Counter-Proliferation and Counterterrorism, and Strategic Partnership Programs, as well as oversees the Field Intelligence Element. The panel will be moderated by Dr. Christopher Perfetti, Associate Professor in the Department of Nuclear Engineering at UNM. We hope to see you there!
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