First Tuesdays: The Future of Nuclear Power

“The Future of Nuclear Power.” Two professors of nuclear physics, Dr. Tim Londergan and Dr. Steven Vigdor will present “the future of nuclear power”. Nuclear power is one among several alternatives for carbon-free energy production to address global climate change. There are two basic types of nuclear power, utilizing the fission of heavy nuclei or the fusion of very light nuclei. Past serious accidents at fission reactor plants and the daunting engineering problems facing attempts to harness thermonuclear fusion in power plants have led to great public skepticism about the future role of nuclear power. However, renewed interest in the design of small modular fission reactors and recent technical breakthroughs in achieving fusion energy have spawned a new nuclear industry featuring many start-up commercial companies.

This program will describe the advances, challenges, and prospects for modular fission reactors and nuclear fusion power plants and how they can play an important part in our carbon-free energy future. For more information, please contact Adam Scribner (jascrib@iu.edu).