More on Wright: Chris Wright is the 17th Secretary for the U.S. Department of Energy. He was nominated by President Trump on November 16, 2024, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on February 3, 2025. Prior to his joining the DOE, Wright served as the CEO of Liberty Energy—an energy services company focused on natural gas, onshore oil, and geothermal energy—as well as on the board of nuclear start-up Oklo. In his first nine months at the DOE, Wright has been an ardent supporter of new nuclear buildout, helping facilitate the new Reactor Pilot Program, the complementary Fuel Line Pilot Program, the Janus Program, and much more.
On Monday, November 10, Wright will speak at the Winter Conference’s opening plenary, alongside a variety of leaders from the nuclear sector:
- H.E. Mohamed Al Hammadi, managing director and CEO of the Emirates Nuclear Energy Company (ENEC)
- Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R., Tenn.) chair of the House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee
- Ted Garrish, the DOE’s assistant secretary for nuclear energy
- Krishna Singh, founder, president, and CEO of Holtec International
- Brandon Williams, undersecretary for nuclear security at the DOE and administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration
- David Wright, chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Conference details: The theme of this year’s Winter Conference is “Building the Nuclear Century”—a call to action that captures the excitement surrounding a flurry of new reactor projects around the world.
ANS President Hash Hashemian also explained that this theme calls on the Society to “elevate, focus on, and celebrate crucial work” across the rest of the nuclear sector, including “isotope production, waste management, public outreach, workforce training, and beyond.”
With that theme in mind, attendees can expect a variety of plenaries, executive and technical sessions, workshops, and tours. Along with events, ANS will be hosting two in-person certificate course offerings of Nuclear 101 and Radioactive Waste Management. Both courses have only a few spots left before they reach capacity, so be sure to sign up soon.
The first executive session of the conference is titled “Reinvigorating the Nuclear Industrial Base: Implementation of Executive Order 14302” and promises to explore how the U.S. can expedite nuclear expansion. Other executive sessions promise to dive deep on the other nuclear-related executive orders recently signed by President Trump.
Technical session topics will run the gamut, giving attendees the opportunity to hear the latest developments on everything from radioisotopes, to fuel cladding, to workforce development, to advanced reactors, and much more.
Two tours: Attendees can take the Ameresco and CyrusOne Data Center tour, a unique chance to better understand one of the key pieces of infrastructure driving new energy investment. The tour will also focus on the intersection of nuclear partnerships and data center operations.
Turning from the nuclear future to the past, a second tour offers the chance to explore the NS Savannah. Launched in 1959, the Savannah was the first nuclear merchant ship. Powered by a 69-MWt pressurized water reactor (that was later uprated to 80 MWt), it traveled more than 450,000 miles and was designated a nuclear historic landmark by ANS in 1991.
Go deeper: To explore all the exciting opportunities this year’s Winter Conference & Expo will have to offer, click here.
