Science, Technology, and Public Policy

Speaker: Jacopo Buongiorno, TEPCO Professor and Associate Department Head, Nuclear Science and Engineering, Director, Center for Advanced Nuclear Energy Systems (CANES), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

MIT has recently completed a multi-disciplinary study, to assess the prospects for new nuclear technologies, policies, business models, and regulatory governance to accelerate the transition to a lower-carbon global energy system in the U.S. and around the world.  In this seminar, we will present a set of findings from the MIT study that are focused on (a) cost competitiveness of nuclear in various markets with and without carbon constraints, (b) technology innovations that could substantially reduce the capital cost of new nuclear plants, and (c) regulatory pathways to accelerate the deployment of advanced reactors.

Speaker: Michael Ford, French Environmental Fellow, Harvard University Center for the Environment.

In this seminar, we will briefly examine the history of the U.S. Department of Energy in advanced nuclear research and development and propose an alternative path that is better suited to the market and technical realities of advanced nuclear concepts. We will also examine broader issues of institutional capacity that may impact the wider deployment of nuclear power to meet carbon mitigation goals.

Speaker: AMB Laura S. H. Holgate

Advanced nuclear reactors offer enormous promise as carbon-free solutions for a range of energy and development challenges due to their potentially lower cost, flexibility, and enhanced safety. To meaningfully influence climate change, these reactors will need to be widely deployed, including in countries without extensive nuclear experience and in designs using novel fuel cycles. And policymakers, regulators, and civil society will need to have confidence that these reactors are designed not only with safety and cost in mind but also with due consideration to whether terrorists, insiders, or even governments can sabotage a facility or acquire or divert nuclear material that could be used for weapons. Meeting these challenges requires more than a slogan of “proliferation resistance” and relates to security- and safeguards-by-design as well as fuel cycle characteristics. Reactors that incorporate security- and safeguards-by-design could become more attractive exports, maximizing economic and national security benefits for the United States.

Speaker: Robert Swartz, National Nuclear Security Administration

This talk will be a discussion of the S. Asia facing engagement programs sponsored by NNSA with the goal of building nuclear stability and reducing the nuclear danger in South Asia.

Speaker: Corey Hinderstein, Senior Coordinator for the Nuclear Security Summit & Nonproliferation Policy Affairs at the National Nuclear Security Administration

Memduh Karakullukçu is the Vice-Chairman and President of the Global Relations Forum and the Founding Partner of the online legal informatics enterprise, kanunum.com. He will present a joint MTA/ENRP seminar titled "Turkey’s Energy Future: What Role for Nuclear Power?"

Please join us! Coffee and tea provided. Everyone is welcome, but admittance will be on a first come–first served basis.