Titans Of Nuclear | Interviewing The World Experts On Nuclear Energy

Episode Content: Chad's time as a Navy Nuke.   What makes one reactor in a submarine more advanced than another reactor?   Challenges faced when constructing, designing, and managing a reactor.   The effect of Three Mile Island on the perception of nuclear and its consequences.   Distinguishing between fast reactors and thermal reactors.   A discussion on sealed source weapons-grade plutonium.   An in-depth look at boiling water reactors.   An overview of the IAEA and the evolution of light water reactors.   How nuclear technology can reduce energy poverty.  

Episode Content: John's start working with Fluor Corporation and his transition to NuScale.   A discussion about the potential of NuScale's SMR in the global market.   The necessity of forging public-private relationships.   An overview of constraints nuclear start-ups face.   The importance of having a sustainable supply chain.   The impact of driving down costs on demand.   What the next generation of reactors will look like and the future of the environmental movement.   How economics trump politics with the SMR design.   The benefit of youth development and cultivating passions.    Applications of SMRs and what the world will look like in the future.  

Episode Content: Growing up as an environmentalist and making the transition to the nuclear industry.   The importance of humanizing nuclear technology.   International Safeguards and Policy.   Taking a state-level approach v. facility-level approach when it comes to safeguards.   The community-based approach and applications of SMRs.   How important it is to train and provide opportunities for the next generation.   Perceptions of nuclear energy in Western Europe, Eastern Europe, and the US.   How to best learn about nuclear if you're not already familiar with it. 

Episode Content:​ Tom's start as a Shift Technical Advisor implementing transient response implementing procedures.   Nuclear Liability law.   The importance of educating and familiarizing others with nuclear terms.   Factors that determine whether technology is commercially attractive.   Tom clarifies: who buys power plants?   The features that make the NuScale's SMR design stand out.   Segmenting the market: what to look for in domestic and international buyers.   Levelized cost of electricity and the significance of acknowledging it through purchase.   Domestic v. International Competition and an in-depth look at the international market.   Painting a picture of the nuclear world in the future.  

Episode Content: Tom's unexpected interest in nuclear through the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Directorate.   Reliability inspect and reliability engineering.   An explanation of and the reasoning behind risk-informed categorization Rule 50.69.   Tom's transition from the NRC to NuScale and the private sector.   A detailed description of the content and tribulations of the licensing application.   The formulation of management topics.   The benefits of applying for and obtaining limited work authorization.   Short-term challenges and long-term aspirations of the company.  

Episode Content: Jose's captivation with the nuclear industry during high school and college.   The history, description, and findings of Counter Current Flow Limitation Testing.   An overview of Jose's time as the Department Head of Nuclear Science and Engineering.   Passive safety systems, the Bleed and Feed Approach, and the AP 600.   Embodying full-scale behavior into a small-scale system.   MASLWR: The Multi-Application Small Light Water Reactor.   The importance of simplicity in design.   How international competition and  natural gas empowered domestic unity.   Future implications of NuScale's groundbreaking design on an international scale.  

Episode Content: Pete's start in the weapons testing and Star Wars Program at Los Alamos National Lab.   An in-depth look at the relationship between nuclear energy and nonproliferation.   Pete's work with Senator Domenici to craft legislation for essential nuclear programs.   A discussion of the Nuclear Cities and Lab to Lab Initiatives.    Efforts Pete spearheaded at the NRC.   The importance of mitigating Station Blackouts and implementing safety measures.   Catalyzing a wave of innovation efforts through investment in research and development.   Highlights about and the ingenuity of NuScale's small modular reactor design.   Reflections upon the importance of US nuclear leadership in the global sphere.  

Episode Content: Ron's start with General Electric working on the D-Replacement Reactor.   How thermohydraulics are used to raise exit temperatures and prevent a boiling coolant.   The significance of plutonium-recycle test reactors and challenges of the program.   An explanation of the physics behind the Fast Flux Test Facility.   The advantages of a fast reactor.    The definition of breeding.   Why it is important to establish mutual and meaningful international partnerships.   Russia and its closed cities.   A discussion on the best way to embark designing new nuclear technology.   Present advances in the nuclear technology sector and its implications for the future.  

Episode Content: Brady's start as a chemical engineer.   An explanation of re-processing.   Dry Storage: in theory and in practice.   An in-depth look at the process and consequences of oxidizing spent fuel.   The formation of the Nuclear Energy Research Initiative.   A discussion about Yucca Mountain's effectiveness in disposing used fuel.   Political obstacles that inhibit disposal solutions.   A look at whether nuclear technology is safe and a comparison to other forms of energy.   What's on the horizon for nuclear energy.  

Episode Content: Tara's start as an archaeologist at Hanford Cultural Resources Laboratory.   An explanation of the National Environmental Policy Act.   A breakdown of environmental assessments and impact statements.   The process of acquiring permits and the necessity of mitigating environmental impact.   The Nuclear Renaissance and whether there is a second Renaissance emerging.   The types of licenses and the renewal process.   Likes, dislikes, and improvements that need to be done in the system.   What the world will look like moving forward.  

Episode Content: Steve's start working on Probabilistic Risk Assessment with the UK Energy Authority.    Sizewell B and the significance of the Wash 1400 safety study.    Risk assessment v. risk perception.   The definition of risk and why it is important to analyze it.   The industry's transition to utilizing a risk-informed approach in design.   A breakdown of the categorization of nuclear facilities.   The viability, benefits, and challenges of extracting uranium from seawater.   PNNL's relationship with the Hanford Site.   A discussion of reprocessing through a risk assessment perspective.   The Golden Age of Nuclear and when it will happen.  

Episode Content: Ed's start at the US Department of Energy doing nuclear non-proliferation security work.   The decisions behind Dirty Bomb Threat Reduction and Global Threat Reduction Initiative.   The US' responsibility to continue its high standard of security and safety.   How the US can compete against Russia and China's state-financed nuclear industries.   The Department of Energy's role in the private nuclear market.    Why the small modular reactor will pave the way towards a new nuclear generation.    The difficulties of maneuvering politics and Presidential Administrations.   Short-term challenges and creating an industry-led commercialization pathway.   What the future of the industry will look like.  

Episode Content:​ Bill's introduction to the nuclear industry through a co-op program at Drexel University.   The importance of the design of a power plant and the logistics of its constructibility.   The Nuclear Quality Assurance Requirements and the emergence of larger plants.   Mitigating concerns, regulatory-driven changes after the Three Mile Island Accident.   Prudence Litigation and the financial vulnerabilities within the nuclear industry.    An explanation of the Single-Shell Tank Clean-Up Program.   A discussion of the United States' departure from the nuclear industry.    The Fast-flux Test Facility shutdown and exploring how to use radio isotopes for medical applications, such as cancer therapy.   The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership and the Traveling-Wave Reactor.  

Jim's start as an extraterrestrial scientist and coordinator of shuttle activities.   Transition to nuclear waste as he moved to PNNL as a geology pair with his wife, Judith.   3 styles of decision making in science policy: ignore science, make it the basis of the decision, retroactively justify the decision with science.    Yucca Mountain is the wrong rock, dripping wet and corrosive.   WIPP Carlsbad, New Mexico, Permian Basin has perfect salt chemistry.    A comparison between the future of China and the US' nuclear industries.   Dilution as a waste mitigation strategy, discussion of Fukishima and Tritium.    A discussion of how the media sources portrays expertise.    A discussion of grout v. glass vitrification processes.   Waste disposal methods, political contentions, and the power of the Constitution.  

Amy's work at the NRC's atomic safety licensing board on waste and interim storage.   An overview of nuclear liability and explanation of the Price-Anderson act.   Deploying technology abroad, the nuclear export control regime, 10CFR- Part 810, general & specific authorizations, 123 agreements, political considerations.    The ability of national security to drive legal policies and decisions.     How the "Gold Standard Provision" affects enrichment and reprocessing access.    The implicit understanding behind "atoms for peace" initiative and the inverse correlation between energy production and weapons production.     Addressing capital risk and the evolution of capital sources, including impact investing.     Collaboration between nuclear developers (new and old) and climate-driven acceptance.  

Episode Content:​ Josh's journey from American political history to Nuclear advocacy Storytelling as a tool to motivate action Third Way's focus areas, clean energy policies, and how they found advanced nuclear How climate change and natural gas changed the perception and rules of energy Identifying key changes such as: access to the lab & regulatory modernization Questioning the role of public perceptions' influence on the industry Across the aisle legislative efforts enabling the next generation of nuclear Developing a consensus around technology, market, and research needs De-Risking capital, technology, and regulatory risk moving into the future

Episode Content: Rita's start in Materials Engineering at MIT, her transition into the space research world Her work at Westinghouse in their fuel fabrication facility Scouting "Game Changing" technologies across robotics, advanced reactors, advanced chemical engineering, advanced manufacturing, digital instrumentation and control How her experience working between Westinghouse and the Labs helped her understand the shortcomings she needed to fix from the inside GAIN initiatives: Vouchers, Workshops, Facilitating industry work with the labs Fuel testing for advanced reactors and the need to build a domestic Fast Test Reactor The formation of a 30 Million dollar per year for 5 years open ended funding opportunity A quick discussion of the NRC modernizing their licensing framework

Episode Content: The ARC origen story through resurrection of a decades old nuclear prototype EBR-2 A technical discussion on "closing the fuel cycle", "breeding", "electrochemical refining" The advantages of ARC from a Waste, Cost, Safety and matching market conditions A discussion of sodium and "pool type" vs "loop type" design A discussion of metallic uranium fuel vs uranium oxide Negative reactivity feedback characteristics enabled by neutron leakage Historical examples of this style reactor's inherent safety features A quick comparison of the four metal fuel designs ARC, PRISM, OKLO, and TERRAPOWER Nuclear economics and how to balance economies of scale vs diseconomies of scale Advantages of the Canadian Licensing Regime: 2 stages & risk-based approach

Episode Content: The origin story of Clearpath and politics role in the climate divide  The "full toolkit" solution to world energy The "more innovation and less regulation" approach to federal policy An explanation of Production Tax credits and how they fit into energy markets "Leveling the playing field" for zero emissions standards How they focus on the innovation and the government's role in R&D Refocusing the Department of Energy's R&D efforts with moonshot initiatives Changing the paradigm of how we build new nuclear Three other research groups intensely focused on understanding construction costs China - and the risks of us ceding world nuclear leadership to them Energy's role in international political relationships The three things we need to move the industry forward...

Episode Content: Mark's background in geology and how that ties in to spent fuel disposal His lab career starting at Los Alamos, then Argonne, then INL INL's history and role in developing nuclear technology New technologies that help bring advanced reactors to fruition Specifically how INL helps facilitate the commercialize new reactor technology How the National Labs work with industry and role of R&D in US competitiveness INL's work as the "underwriter's lab" of storage technology How the various contributions of the national labs work as a whole system How competing on ideas drives science forward Smartgrid, cybersecurity, and design with resiliency in mind The importance of multidisciplinary learning and Mark's insight looking towards the future of technology