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Conference Spotlight
2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
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NN Asks: Is the U.S. ready for nuclear construction to accelerate?
Craig Stover
Yes, but . . .
The United States is better positioned today for nuclear construction than it has been in decades. Some of that comes from the experience gained at Vogtle and V.C. Summer. I was part of the team that helped start the V.C. Summer project in 2008, and at that time we were trying to build a nuclear construction workforce from scratch. We learned a lot through that effort, and many of those lessons learned have since been studied, documented, and shared.
The nuclear industry is also benefiting from the wave of investment that started growing around 2020. Over the last five or six years, there has been a serious effort across the country to get ready for new nuclear builds. The U.S. government and the private sector are investing billions of dollars in new nuclear. Much of that work is happening before widespread commercial deployment contracts are signed. This is real, and we need to prepare.
Technical Session|Panel|Sponsored by ETWDD|Cosponsored by FCWMD
Monday, November 18, 2024|1:00–2:45PM EST|Canaveral 1
Session Chair:
Patricia D. Paviet
Session Organizers:
Leah Squires (INL)
Alternate Chair:
Molten Salt Reactor concept is recognized as a game-changing technology that can overcome existing barriers to the widespread adoption of commercial nuclear power. Despite numerous efforts in coordinating and promoting nuclear education, there is still much to be done for maintaining and expanding our skilled nuclear workforce, which is critical for meeting the growing and specialized demand of MSR development. This panel session will bring together leaders in the MSR community including academia, national laboratories, government agencies, and industry, to discuss the challenges in educating, hiring, and retaining a skilled nuclear workforce to meet the future needs of the field.
Theodore Besmann
Univ. South Carolina
Jake McMurray
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Toni Karlsson
INL
Alexander Bataller
NCSU
Massimiliano Fratoni
Univ. California, Berkeley