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Conference Spotlight
2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
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New frontiers
Craig Piercycpiercy@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.
Temitope A. Taiwo, Robert N. Hill, Hussein S. Khalil (ANL)
Transactions | Volume 110 | Number 1 | June 2014 | Pages 601-602
