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    Nuclear Energy and Applications, 19-20 October 2026 Illinois Urbana Champaign University

    → America/Chicago
    Cinzia Da Via (University of Manchester (GB) and Stony Brook University, USA), Angela Di Fulvio, Emanuel Rota (UIUC)
    Description

    Registrations are now closed, contact acdis@illinois.edu for late registration.

     

    Motivation

    Increased electricity demand, electrification, decarbonization, and resilience goals for 2030–2050 require firm, low‑carbon power and high‑temperature heat that complement renewables and modern grids. Nuclear technologies—including Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and Microreactors (MMRs), to fusion R&D and advanced fuel cycles—are re‑emerging as practical tools for clean electricity, process heat, desalination, hydrogen production and energy storage. In parallel, nuclear‑enabled technologies continue to transform medicine, sensing, and materials science.

    Background 

    IEEE SusTech “Inter-Society, Engagement & Collaboration Committee” is developing a multi‑society project to IEEE SusTech “Inter-Society, Engagement & Collaboration Committee” is developing a multi‑society project to evaluate possible collaborations with university campuses hosting MMRs. 

    https://sustech.ieee.org/iec-committee/

     

    IEEE NPSS organized two workshops showcasing NPSS assets in nuclear and plasma fields: “Nuclear and Power Solutions for Energy and Society” (Tampa, 2024) and “Nuclear and Power Opportunities for Energy and Society” (Yokohama, 2025).

    The IEEE Future Directions Second Webinar Series on Nuclear Energy is proposing cutting edge presentations throughout 2026 with unprecedented attendance.

    https://futuredirections.ieee.org/ieee-second-presentation-series-on-nuclear-energy/

    The IEEE Future Direction Alternative Energy Generation and Storage Initiative was approved in Fall 2024 and started in Spring 2025.

    Building on this momentum, The Nuclear Energy and Applications In-Person Workshop aims to bring together communities that do not often engage directly with one another, including IEEE NPSS, IEEE PES and Smart Grid, IEEE Standards, reliability engineers, control and power electronics specialists, the IEEE Computer Society, and experts in social, ethical, and policy aspects of technology. The workshop will also welcome external partners such as the American Nuclear Society (ANS), the Canadian Nuclear Society (CNS), and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

    Objective

    The objective of the Nuclear Energy and Applications Workshop is to identify critical gaps, emerging opportunities, and innovative solutions that can accelerate the nuclear energy transition and advance applications of nuclear science and technology. Through interdisciplinary dialogue, participants will examine the technical, regulatory, societal, and workforce challenges associated with the deployment of next-generation nuclear technologies. 

    The workshop will be hosted by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, home of the NANO-KRONOS microreactor project, which is expected to become one of the first university-operated advanced reactors in the United States before 2030.

    Participants
    56 View full list
    • Monday 19 October
      • 08:00 → 09:00
        Registration
      • 09:00 → 09:20
        Welcome Remarks
        • 09:00
          Welcome Remarks 5m
          Speaker: Prof. Rashid Bashir
        • 09:05
          Welcome to the Workshop and Outlook 10m
          Speaker: Prof. Cinzia Da Via (The University of Manchester (GB))
      • 09:20 → 11:45
        Nuclear Power: Fission and Technology Options

        Introduction to Nuclear Power and Technology Options

      • 11:45 → 13:00
        Luncheeon 1h 15m
      • 13:00 → 14:00
        Moderated panel with industry speakers involved in developments at universities
      • 14:00 → 15:20
        Nuclear Applications Beyond Energy
        • 14:00
          From Neutrons to Patients: Small Modular Reactors for Medical Isotope Production 15m
          Speaker: Laura Ravasi (Medical and Scientific Advisor, Oncidium Foundation)
          1_Ravasi_From_Neutrons_to_Patients_Laura_Ravasi.pdf
        • 14:15
          Nanofluid-based Accelerator-driven Transmutation Recycler (NATURE): A Liquid-Lead Suspended-Fuel Subcritical Blanket for Nuclear Waste Transmutation 15m
          Speaker: Dr Yan Cao (Principal Nuclear Engineer, Argonne National Laboratory)
          2_NATURE at UIUC Workshop.pdf
        • 14:30
          Small Modular Reactor Applications to Nuclear Medicine, Maritime Deployment, and Waste Transmutation 15m
          Speaker: Cayle Bradley
          3_UIUC Presentation_ARPA-E_19 October Revision.pdf
        • 14:45
          Nuclear Medicine – Towards Universally Accessible Personalized Health Management 15m
          Speaker: Prof. Vesna Sossi (Physics and Astronomy and Medicine, The University of British Columbia)
          4_Sossi_nuclear_medicine_submitted.pdf
      • 15:20 → 15:30
        Coffeee 10m
      • 15:30 → 17:00
        Social, Ethical, and Workforce Dimensions (presentations and panel discussion)
      • 18:00 → 20:00
        Reception 2h
    • Tuesday 20 October
      • 08:00 → 08:30
        Registration/Coffee 30m
      • 08:30 → 10:10
        Day 2: Regularoty Landscape and Role of the Professional Societies
      • 10:10 → 10:20
        Coffee 10m
      • 10:20 → 11:40
        Reactor Monitoring and Sensors Preparing for SMRs
        • 10:20
          Neutron flux detectors in Nuclear Reactors 20m
          Speaker: Prof. Raymond Cao (Director of the Nuclear Engineering Program at The Ohio State)
          Neutron Flux Monitoring - LRC final Oct 20 2026.pdf
        • 10:40
          Instrumentation for New Fuel Cycles 20m
          Speaker: Prof. Angela Di Fulvio (Department of Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
          2_2026DiFulvio.pdf
        • 11:00
          Opportunities for Optical Fiber-Based Sensors in Emergent Small Modular Reactors 20m
          Speaker: Dr Tony Birri
          3_Birri_IEEE NPSS mtg Birri 2026.pdf
        • 11:20
          Radiation-Hardened-by-Design FPGA-Based Systems for Operation in Neutron Radiation Environments 20m
          Speaker: Prof. Raffaele Giordano (Department of Physics, Subnuclear Physics, University of Naples "Federico II", Italy)
          RHBD_FPGA_giordano.pdf
      • 11:40 → 12:40
        Luncheon 1h
      • 12:40 → 13:40
        Digital Twins for Advanced Analytics, Safeguards and Security
        • 12:40
          Towards Agentic Foundation Models: Digital Twin Solutions for Virtual Sensing in Inaccessible Locations 20m
          Speaker: Prof. Syed Bahauddin Alam (Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
          1_ACDIS-Seminar_Alam_UIUC.pdf
        • 13:00
          The PUR-1 Dynamic Cyber-Physical Digital Twin 20m
          Speaker: Prof. Sylianos Chatizidakis (Associate Reactor Director, and Direcotr of Nuclear Engineering Radiation Laboratory, Purdue University)
          2_IEEE_NPSS_Chatzidakis_2026.pdf
        • 13:20
          Advanced Reactor Safeguards and Security: Application of Digital Twins 20m
          Speaker: Dr Ben Cipiti (Principal Member of the Technical Staff, Safeguards and Security for Nuclear Reactors and Fuel Cycle Facilities, Sandia National Laboratories)
          3_Cipiti UIUC 2026.pdf
      • 13:40 → 13:55
        coffee 15m
      • 13:55 → 14:55
        Alternative Energy, Energy Storage and Grid Integration PES
      • 14:55 → 15:05
        Closing Remarks by the Organising Committee 10m
      • 15:05 → 16:30
        Closed Session 1h 25m