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Conference Spotlight
2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
Latest Magazine Issues
Aug 2026
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2026
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Nuclear Science and Engineering
September 2026
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
August 2026
Latest News
The transformation of the NRC: 50 years of commissioners
The dust is beginning to settle following the whirlwind of changes at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission over the past year, and 2025 ultimately may be viewed as a transformative year, as well as the year the NRC celebrated its golden anniversary. The 12 months of that milestone year brought more change to the agency in its composition, its mandate, and its relationship to the executive branch than any comparable period in the preceding four decades.
Now at 51 years and counting, the NRC is working with a full commission and issuing new rulemakings to both regulate and support the next round of nuclear deployments. With the turbulence of 2025 still fresh in our minds, Nuclear News decided it was a good time to revisit the professional backgrounds of all 42 NRC commissioners who have served over the agency’s 50-year history to see how the composition of the commission has evolved over time.
Award Recipient Photos
Honors and Awards Program
Rizwan Uddin
Bernadette L. Kirk
Brian Kidd
Mark DeHartTemitope TaiwoTerry ToddDr. Jess C. GehinDr. Robert N. HillDr. Alan S. IcenhourDr. Jose N. Reyes, Jr.Dr. Akio Yamamoto
University of Illinois Student Section (Best Section)University of Florida Student Section (Honorable Mention)University of Wisconsin – Madison Student Section (Honorable Mention)
Frank M. Heckendorn, II
Kurt A. Terrani
Pablo Mulás
Benard Boullis
Small Local SectionsNortheastern New York (Best Membership)Pittsburgh (Best Meetings and Programs)Oak Ridge/Knoxville (Best Public Information)Northeastern New York (Best Section Management)Large Local SectionsSavannah River (Best Overall)Best International SectionsJapan (Best Overall)
Larry R. FoulkeGilbert J. Brown
Advanced Test Reactor
Arndt Lindner
Dr. Yinbin Miao
Brian Wirth
University of Missouri Research Reactor (MURR)Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) Complex
Dr. Zahra Mohaghegh
Mohamed Sawan
Darby S. KimballStephen E. KuczynskiEdward D. KeeNicholas ThompsonDaniel J. Curtis
George H. Miley
Robert Jubin
Peter B. Lyons
Andrew O. Smetana
GraduateUniversity of California Berkeley: Near-Term Deployment Viability of Liquid-Fuel Molten Salt ReactorsSandra Bogetic, Andrew Greenop, Nils Haneklaus, Chris Poresky, Dan ShenAdvisor: Dr. Massimiliano FratoniUndergraduatePurdue University: Helium-3 Production Via Lithium Activation In An Accelerator-Driven ReactorP. Dressman, A. Jassem, T. Kyle, R. Nicholson, S. Sanders, D. ToneffAdvisor: Prof. Chan K. ChoiUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison: Design Report for the Molten-Chloride High Temperature Reactor (M-CHTR)Alex Gross, Andrew Maile, Jordan Rein, Advisor: Dr. John MurphyTexas A&M University: VASIMR – Interfaced High Temperature GasCooled Fast Reactor for Advanced Space Applications (VARGAS)Joe Kelsey, Andrés Morell-Pacheco, Tyler Hughes, and Nick WhitmanAdvisor: Dr. Pavel Tsvetkov
Dr. Nam Truc Dinh
John Milhalczo
Plant Hatch
Randall K. Edington
Dr. Luiz Carlos LealDr. Mark L. Williams
Kathryn D. Huff
Regis Matzie
