“The Future of Nuclear Energy,” presented by Mark Jensen, organized by Mines' Chapter of Sigma Xi, noon 3/11, Ballrooms D & E

Mines' Chapter of Sigma Xi presents “The Future of Nuclear Energy,” by Dr Mark Jensen, noon, Wed., March 11 (Ballrooms D & E, Student Center).

All interested members of the Mines community and beyond are welcome to attend. Light refreshments will be served.

Thirty-three countries have signed the Declaration to Triple Nuclear Energy by 2050, which started as part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Dubai (2023). Currently, world-wide production of electricity from nuclear energy is approximately 400 GWe with a target of 1200 GWe by 2050. The United States has set an even more ambitious goal to quadruple nuclear energy to 400 GWe by 2050. How might America and the other 32 signatory countries meet these ambitious goals? After a description of the current state of nuclear power, we will consider how new reactor technologies, improved supply chains, diversified energy markets, and progress on nuclear waste disposal will be necessary to achieve these goals and how fusion energy might fit into the mix.

Mark Jensen is Professor of Chemistry, the Jerry and Tina Grandey University Chair in Nuclear Science and Engineering, and the Director of the Nuclear Science and Engineering Program at Mines. His research focuses on the nuclear fuel cycle and critical materials with particular interest in understanding the separations, environmental, and biological chemistry of the radioactive actinide elements.

For further information: whereman@mines.edu