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Conference Spotlight
2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
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August 2026
Latest News
Copper melting behavior at extreme temperatures could inform fusion materials
Using SLAC’s electron camera, researchers recorded timestamps of solid copper atoms (orange) as they melted (yellow) after being blasted with laser heat. This graphic shows how copper atoms changed over a period of several femtoseconds (millionths of a billionth of a second), notated here as fractions of a picosecond. Instead of the predicted collapse, the researchers saw a gradual melting. (Image: Greg Stewart/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory)
The SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory has announced researchers have conducted experiments testing how copper melts under extreme conditions, such as those it might be exposed to in a fusion machine. The results, published in Nature Communications, found that a copper thin film was more resilient to melting than models had predicted, uncovering molecular dynamics that had been missing from calculations.
“These results greatly improve the simulations we use to predict which materials have the best shot at surviving the extreme conditions of future fusion reaction chambers,” said Mianzhen Mo, the SLAC staff scientist who led the research.
Educational Session|Panel|Sponsored by Business/Economic Performance
Tuesday, August 11, 2020|12:00–1:30PM EDT
Session Organizer:
Maria Hernandez (Duke Energy)
Track Organizer:
Timothy Schlimpert (MCR Group)
Knowledge Manager:
Amber Von Ruden (Exelon Corporation)
This session will review recent operating cost data to analyze the nature of current spending, evaluate trends in spending and identify those areas most likely to provide opportunities for improvement in the future. Maria Hernandez, Nuclear Corporate Finance Manager for Duke Energy and Timothy Schlimpert, Vice President, MCR Performance Solutions will complete and present the analyses. Supporting data is collected and provided for analysis by the Electric Utility Cost Group (EUCG); the only organization collecting robust industry cost data. All information is provided blinded to protect the confidentiality of all data contributors. For more on the EUCG visit: www.eucg.org
Tim Schlimpert
VP MCR
Maria Hernandez
Duke Energy
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Session Notes
