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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
October 2026
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September 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
August 2026
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Center for Used Fuel Research: Building confidence in storage and transport
Used nuclear fuel storage and transportation have reached a critical juncture.
Dozens of utilities need reliable data on how used nuclear fuel performs in dry storage casks and canisters to extend regulatory licenses at sites across the United States. Likewise, the Department of Energy expects to take ownership of the used nuclear fuel—termed “spent nuclear fuel” in the laws and regulations governing its stewardship—and transfer it to one or more federal staging facilities for management and disposition.
Meanwhile, dozens of reactor companies are testing prototypes of advanced reactors and advanced reactor fuels. Eventually, regulators and industry must also verify the safety and security of storage methods for these advanced fuel types.
To help address these challenges, the DOE established the Center for Used Fuel Research (CUFR) in January 2026 for work related to the long-term storage and transport of used nuclear fuel.
The American Nuclear Society's Fusion Energy Division has two awards that are given at each TOFE conference, the Outstanding Achievement Award and the Technical Accomplishment Award. The nomination cycle for 2026 is now open and we are accepting nomination packages for each of these awards through May 4, 2026. As a high level overview, the difference between the two awards is that the Outstanding Achievement Award is intended for someone with a continued history of accomplishments in fusion science and engineering over many years, whereas the Technical Accomplishment Award is intended for one particular accomplishment in fusion no matter how long the person has been working in the fusion field. Each of these awards has specific requirements for what to submit, how to submit, and the criteria for the award decisions, which can be found at the below two links. The full list of ANS awards, including the two FED awards, can be found here.
Additional questions that cannot be addressed by the information on the award webpages should be sent to the FED Awards Committee Chair, Lauren Garrison at lgarrison@cfs.energy.
Last modified March 2, 2026, 7:44am MST