Craig Piercy
cpiercy@ans.org

There may have been no more fitting place to gather for a conversation about the future of nuclear energy than Colorado.

For the nuclear community, Colorado carries a special resonance. About an hour north of Denver stands Fort St. Vrain. Today, it is a garden-variety natural gas power plant. But there was a time it was an ambitious nuclear reactor—a high-temperature gas reactor with helium coolant and a uranium-thorium fuel cycle. It was ahead of its time in many ways and imperfect in execution, but unmistakably part of the long story of nuclear innovation in America.

Colorado is a state shaped by frontiers. We, too, are standing at a frontier, which brings me to this year’s conference theme: “Net Out, Power Up.” We chose this theme to reflect the complementary challenges facing two parts of our community. “Net Out” reflects fusion’s challenge: proving you can get more energy out than you put in. “Power Up” reflects fission’s challenge: scaling advanced nuclear technologies quickly enough to meet rising demand.

Hash Hashemian

The 2026 ANS Annual Conference, “Net Out and Power Up,” brought the nuclear community together in Denver at the end of May. Over four days at the Sheraton Denver, we heard from exceptional speakers on the most consequential questions facing our field; how fusion and fission can complement each other, how to meet surging electricity demand, and what it takes to sustain American nuclear leadership. The embedded topicals on nuclear fuels and materials and on fusion energy added real technical depth. It was exactly the kind of gathering that reminds us why this community is so remarkable.

That energy and commitment is precisely what I want to channel as I close out my term as president of the American Nuclear Society. Because sustaining it year after year, conference after conference, requires more than enthusiasm. It requires investment.

The nuclear community descended on Denver, Colo., this week for the American Nuclear Society’s Annual Conference, which opened with a packed room and inspiring words from multiple speakers.

Ahead of this year's Annual Conference, which is taking May 31–June 3 in Denver, Colo., the American Nuclear Society is excited to recognize exceptional individuals in the nuclear community. This season’s national award recipients and new Fellows of ANS will receive official recognition during the opening plenary on Monday, June 1.

Hash Hashemian (president@ans.org), proud grandfather of 1-year-old Vera Rose Sizemore.

With the 2026 ANS Annual Conference right around the corner, planning is well underway, with many exceptional speakers who will explore how fusion and fission can turn breakthrough innovation into real, scalable power that drives our clean energy future. I am looking forward to seeing the nuclear community in Denver in June.

If you want to hear some of my thoughts on the current state of nuclear power before the conference, you can watch or listen to the March 3 episode of the Blockspace podcast, on which I was a guest (blockspace.media/podcast/americas-nuclear-revival-is-here-w-dr-hash-hashemian/). There, I aimed to both reach a broader audience and promote the peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology.

The episode contains a wide-ranging discussion about the current state of nuclear energy in America, touching on regulatory reform, surging electricity demand, and what it will take to maintain U.S. leadership in nuclear development.

With this year’s awards already presented at the American Nuclear Society Annual Conference in June, the ANS Honors and Awards (H&A) Committee has set its sights on planning for next year’s distinctions. To that end, the H&A Committee is now soliciting suggested topics for the 2026 Special Award.