Advanced Reactor Roundup

Jacob is the founder and the CEO of Oklo Inc., a Sunnyvale, CA based company developing and building small nuclear reactors. Jacob has been working with nuclear technology for nearly 15 years and has experience with nuclear reactor design and analysis, spanning a variety of reactors including sodium fast reactors, molten salt reactors, and next generation PWRs. Jacob has worked at GE, Sandia National Labs, Urenco US, and the naval reactor research laboratories. At Sandia, Jacob worked on the Lab’s irradiation facilities, including a fast test reactor. He led core design on the PRISM sodium fast reactor while at GE. Jacob is originally from Albuquerque, NM. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Florida and his SM and PhD at MIT in nuclear engineering where he developed strategies to introduce high performance light water reactor fuels as part of long-term capital asset management planning for nuclear power plants.

Peter serves as Vice President, Regulatory Affairs & Quality, for Kairos Power. He leads teams responsible for licensing, risk-informed safety analysis and probabilistic risk assessment, quality assurance, nuclear safeguards and security, and government affairs, with a focus on establishing the regulatory basis for development and deployment of the Kairos Power high-temperature, fluoride salt-cooled reactor. Prior to joining Kairos Power, he consulted with advanced reactor developers and NGOs on the regulatory framework for advance reactors, risk-informed regulation and emergency planning, and source term development. He held previous positions with Generation mPower, Duke Energy, and NuStart.

Peter is a member of the Board of Directors and Chair of the Advanced Reactor Working Group for the US Nuclear Industry Council, Chair of the Nuclear Energy Institute’s Advanced Reactor Regulatory Working Group, Vice Chair of the World Nuclear Association’s CORDEL Working Group, Chair of the CORDEL Small Modular Reactor Task Force, Chair of the US High-Temperature Reactor Technology Working Group, and appointed member of the US Chamber of Commerce Civil Nuclear Trade Advisory Committee, as well as a member of numerous industry steering committees. He earned his BS in nuclear engineering from NC State University and is a registered Professional Engineer in North and South Carolina.

Joseph is the president of BWXT Advanced Technologies LLC, a subsidiary of BWX Technologies, Inc. (BWXT), and subsidiaries Cunico and Dynamic Controls, Ltd. Prior to his current position, he served as general manager. He also held the role of program manager for BWXT’s Advanced Technologies group.

Joseph previously served as a system design manager of various nuclear engineering projects as well as test engineering manager, validating the design of the mPower™ small modular reactor nuclear steam supply system.

During his 24-year career, Joseph served in the U.S. Navy onboard the USS Norfolk (SSN 714) and was a mechanical test engineer for new construction of Virginia-class submarines. He also worked as a semiconductor equipment engineer.

Joseph holds a master’s degree in radiation health physics from Oregon State University. He is a member of the Virginia American Nuclear Society Executive Committee and serves on the Oregon State University Nuclear Science and Engineering Advisory Board and Central Virginia Community College Educational Foundation Board.

As Vice President of Global Business Development, Benjamin leads the Business Development organization at X-energy and is responsible for end-to-end commercial reactor business development and sales – strategy and marketing, analytics, organizational management, customer relationship development, contract negotiations, capture management, and early-phase project management.

Benjamin is an energy executive with expertise in science and innovation, clean energy technology development, industries of the future, nuclear systems, critical minerals and materials, space science and technology, and the nexus of energy security and national security. His policy development and implementation experience spans both the legislative and executive branches.

Benjamin originally joined X-energy as the Senior Director for Corporate Strategy and Advisor to the CEO, leading long-term strategic planning for the company and supporting key functions ranging from business planning to business development, and strategic partnerships to strategic supplier relations. He also oversaw that corporate communications organization and supported X-energy’s capital planning and government engagement.

Prior to joining X-energy, Benjamin served as the Executive Director of the Office of Strategic Planning and Policy of the Department of Energy (DOE). As the senior policy advisor to the Secretary, he spearheaded high-priority energy initiatives and led an interdisciplinary team of experts in crafting long-term, cross-cutting DOE strategies. Before moving to DOE, Benjamin served as majority professional staff on the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, where he led departmental oversight and development of law spanning a range of energy issues including technology development, batteries and grid storage, workforce, microgrids and integrated energy systems, nuclear energy, and university R&D. He first joined the ENR team as the 2016 American Nuclear Society Glenn T. Seaborg Congressional Fellow. As the chief architect of legislation and strategies in these roles, Dr. Reinke has worked with researchers and innovators across economic sectors.

Benjamin holds his PhD and MS in nuclear engineering, as well as his BS in physics and French from the Ohio State University, where he was a NASA Space Technology Research Fellow and a Nuclear Regulatory Commission Fellow. His graduate studies included radiation damage in advanced materials for space applications and the development and characterization of high-temperature radiation detectors for nuclear safeguards in molten salt reprocessing environments. His research experiences also include studying the cultural and political context of the development of the French nuclear program and serving as a research assistant in a High Energy-Density Physics laser research group.