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Conference Spotlight
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.
Technical Session|Sponsored by MCD
Wednesday, November 18, 2020|2:40–4:20PM EST
Session Chair:
Kathryn D. Huff
Alternate Chair:
Jeffrey A. Favorite
Session Organizer:
Brian C. Kiedrowski
Staff Producer:
Ashley Jiminian (American Nuclear Society)
To access the session recording, you must be logged in and registered for the meeting.
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To access paper attachments, you must be logged in and registered for the meeting.
Applying Constrained Bayesian Optimization to the Design of Criticality Experiments
Daniel J. Siefman (LLNL), Catherine M. Percher (LLNL), Jesse Norris (LLNL)
Paper
Deep Surrogate Models for Multi-dimensional Regression of Reactor Power
Akshay Dave (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Jarod Wilson (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Kaichao Sun (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Assembly Combinatorial Optimisation with Deep Reinforcement Learning
Majdi I. Radaideh (University of Illinois Urbana Champaign), Benoit Forget (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Koroush Shirvan (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Analysis of Reactor Simulations with Deep Learning Surrogate Models
Majdi I. Radaideh (University of Illinois Urbana Champaign), Tomasz Kozlowski (University of Illinois)