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2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
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The human factor in licensing and operating the next generation of nuclear plants
As human factors specialists working at the intersection of human performance and nuclear operations, we are witnessing one of the nuclear sector’s most significant transitions in decades. The emergence of small modular reactors, microreactors, and other advanced designs is reshaping the industry’s landscape. Digital instrumentation and controls, passive safety systems, and increased automation are creating opportunities for greater safety margins and more flexible operation. These same features also fundamentally redefine what it means to “operate” a nuclear plant. Interactions among human roles, automation, and passive systems shape how people maintain awareness, exercise judgment, and intervene when necessary. These developments affect both operational realities and the regulatory foundations on which nuclear safety is built.
2020 ANS Virtual Winter Meeting Plenary Special Session Speaker
Kansas State University
Amir Bahadori earned Bachelor of Science degrees in Mechanical Engineering with Nuclear Engineering Option and Mathematics from Kansas State University in 2008. He then attended graduate school at the University of Florida, graduating in 2010 with a Master of Science degree in Nuclear and Radiological Engineering and in 2012 with a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Biomedical Engineering. Bahadori worked as a contractor for NASA Johnson Space Center from 2010 to 2013 and then as a civil servant from 2013 to 2015, with work focused on astronaut radiation risk projection and assessment, space radiation dosimetry using active pixel detectors, and space radiation transport using deterministic and Monte Carlo-based codes. He returned to Kansas State University as an assistant professor in December 2015, where he teaches courses related to nuclear and radiological engineering and conducts research with focus areas in space radiation protection, radiation transport applications, and semiconductor detector modeling and simulation. Since 2015, Bahadori has been certified in the comprehensive practice of health physics by the American Board of Health Physics. In addition to ANS membership, he is a member of the Health Physics Society, International Radiation Physics Society, and the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Bahadori is also an associate of the Committee on Space Research of the International Council for Science.
Last modified October 15, 2020, 2:52pm EDT
