Nuclear and Emerging Technologies for Space (NETS 2027)

The technical program solicits new, significant work relevant to the nuclear industry, with summaries and abstracts presented orally. Topics include advanced reactors and power systems; energy storage integration with nuclear plants; fusion; nuclear fuel recycling, waste forms, transmutation and disposal; AI applications in nuclear safety and materials research; nuclear nonproliferation; advanced and additive manufacturing; and thermal hydraulics. Embedded topics include Decommissioning Environmental Sciences and Remote Technology, covering robotics and remote systems, decommissioning, environmental remediation, nuclear cleanup, used-fuel management, and related AI, digital-twin and regulatory topics. Accelerator Applications covers accelerator facilities and design, nuclear data, materials science, medical and industrial applications, security and forensics, and environmental studies. Accepted and presented summaries are slated for publication in ANS Transactions.

The conference theme is “Going Critical: Creating a Durable Nuclear Resurgence.” Plenary discussions address how technology, finance, and public policy can sustain nuclear energy momentum, and how public confidence, domestic supply chains, workforce development, investment, and state leadership can support deployment at scale. John Wagner, Laboratory Director at INL, is a featured speaker; the opening plenary also includes U.S. NRC Commissioners Douglas Weaver and Bradley Crowell. The technical program features expert-led presentations and peer-reviewed research on advanced reactors, fuel cycle and waste management, reactor physics, fusion, AI and machine learning, materials science, instrumentation and controls, criticality safety, and robotics. Named session topics include nuclear energy markets, financing and economics; hybrid and integrated energy systems; maritime and data center applications; nuclear safeguards; cybersecurity; molten salt reactor fuels and materials; and advanced/additive manufacturing. Panels address uranium mining remediation, environmental review, digital twins, advanced reactor fuel supply and fabrication, and nuclear deployment pathways.

The conference covers fundamental, computational, and experimental thermal hydraulics; verification, validation, and uncertainty quantification; plant operations; severe accidents; next-generation reactor technologies; LWR, SMR, and MMR systems; AI/ML for nuclear thermal hydraulics; and special topics. Specific subjects include two-phase flow and heat transfer, boiling and condensation, computational fluid dynamics, experimental methods and instrumentation, CFD benchmarks, licensing challenges, spent-fuel heat transfer, severe-accident modeling, microreactors, molten-salt and liquid-metal reactors, digital twins, and machine-learning model trustworthiness. The program includes an opening plenary, keynote presentations, technical-session blocks, and a closing plenary. The call for papers describes full-paper presentations and digital proceedings, with selected papers considered for publication in special issues of Nuclear Technology, Nuclear Science and Engineering, Nuclear Engineering and Design, and/or Fusion Science and Technology.

The conference covers radioactive-material management and nuclear-facility decommissioning. Its 12 tracks include crosscutting policies and programs; high- and low-level radioactive waste, spent fuel, and long-lived alpha/transuranic waste; nuclear power plant waste and on-site spent-fuel storage; packaging and transportation; decontamination and decommissioning; environmental remediation; communications and workforce; and advanced reactors and fusion. The program highlights the United Kingdom’s nuclear-sector developments, including waste management and decommissioning for legacy sites, new nuclear capacity, small modular reactors, and advanced nuclear deployment. The featured U.S. Department of Energy site, Savannah River Site, focuses on tank waste cleanup, nuclear materials processing, advanced manufacturing, AI, and applied research and development, as well as partnerships among government, contractors, regulators, stakeholders, and surrounding communities.

Jointly hosted by the American Nuclear Society and the Nuclear Energy Institute, NECX brings together utilities, advanced reactor developers, suppliers, regulators, policymakers, investors, engineers, researchers, project leaders, and innovators. Programming includes executive plenaries, technical sessions, and expert-led discussions focused on nuclear deployment, commercialization, investment, and industry growth. Focus areas include advanced nuclear deployment; manufacturing and AI innovation; regulatory affairs; project integration; supply-chain sourcing; workforce development; plant reliability and engineering; and emergency preparedness. The expo-hall Spotlight Stage features presentations on emerging technologies, practical insights, and solutions related to nuclear deployment, operations, innovation, and commercialization.

Joint meeting of the 15th International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Plant Instrumentation, Control & Human-Machine Interface Technologies and the 9th International Symposium on Future I&C for Nuclear Power Plants. Organized by the Human Factors, Instrumentation & Controls Divisions of the American Nuclear Society and the Korean Nuclear Society, it brings together industry leaders, academic researchers, and regulatory experts to explore the state of technology and future directions in nuclear I&C and human factors engineering. The technical program is planned to include peer-reviewed podium presentations, technical panels, and student paper competitions, with accepted papers published in the conference proceedings. Paper areas include advanced sensor technology; online monitoring, diagnostics, and prognostics; autonomous reactor control and operation; cybersecurity in nuclear reactors, I&C, and wireless technologies; digital twins; I&C for advanced reactors, small modular reactors, and integrated energy systems; I&C system reliability; machine learning and artificial intelligence; remote operation, monitoring, and maintenance; robotics; structural health monitoring; large language models in nuclear energy; and verification, validation, and uncertainty quantification. Human-factors areas include design and analysis methods; computerized procedures and digital instructions; human-factors considerations for AI, autonomy, balance of plant, control-room modernization, remote operations, verification and validation, advanced visualization, cybersecurity, and novel concepts of operations; operator studies; human-automation interaction; human performance evaluation; human reliability analysis; interface and alarm design; operating experience; staffing and qualification; task analysis; and workstation design. These are suggested paper topics rather than final session titles.

The program brings together energy, industrial transformation, and advanced manufacturing, with cross-cutting themes of workforce development, standards, finance, AI and digital transformation, policy, and resilience planning. Roundtables, workshops, and demos are designed to address tradeoffs involving affordability, risk, standardization, and deployment speed. Program tracks include Powering Growth, with sample sessions on data-center power and cooling, new nuclear deployment, solar cost reduction, and scaling geothermal; Industry Reimagined, covering industrial heat electrification, next-generation steel, and EPC project-delivery costs and risks; Next-Gen Manufacturing, addressing hardware investment and bankability, additive manufacturing, and sustainability tradeoffs in product design; and Future Workforce, on nuclear workforce readiness, apprenticeships, and aligning training programs with real projects. Additional sessions are in development in areas including energy storage, fusion, industrial efficiency, critical minerals, and sustainability tradeoffs. The listed sessions are samples and subject to change.

The program spans project execution, nuclear energy, and grids, AI, and infrastructure. Sessions address financing and delivering the U.S. energy buildout; grid capacity, interconnection, transmission, reliability, and cost allocation; and the effects of data-center and industrial demand on power planning. Nuclear topics include power for data centers, first-of-a-kind project cost and delivery, nuclear finance, HALEU and fuel supply, utility choices among large reactors, SMRs, and microreactors, and pathways to SMR deployment. Other sessions cover LNG security, trade, and investment; energy storage and grid-edge technologies; AI in energy operations; and project bankability, permitting, policy, supply-chain, and delivery risks. The program also includes executive roundtables, a project-execution clinic, and an energy startup pitch competition.

A leadership summit and global broadcast focused on deploying small modular reactors and advanced nuclear. Themes include financing, first-of-a-kind project risk, supply-chain resilience, regulation, technology, project execution, and partnerships among utilities, developers, technology companies, finance, and regulators. The event frames nuclear as a scalable option for energy security.