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Division Spotlight
Education, Training & Workforce Development
The Education, Training & Workforce Development Division provides communication among the academic, industrial, and governmental communities through the exchange of views and information on matters related to education, training and workforce development in nuclear and radiological science, engineering, and technology. Industry leaders, education and training professionals, and interested students work together through Society-sponsored meetings and publications, to enrich their professional development, to educate the general public, and to advance nuclear and radiological science and engineering.
Meeting Spotlight
International Conference on Mathematics and Computational Methods Applied to Nuclear Science and Engineering (M&C 2025)
April 27–30, 2025
Denver, CO|The Westin Denver Downtown
Standards Program
The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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Nuclear Science and Engineering
May 2025
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
TerraPower begins U.K. regulatory approval process
Seattle-based TerraPower signaled its interest this week in building its Natrium small modular reactor in the United Kingdom, the company announced.
TerraPower sent a letter to the U.K.’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, formally establishing its intention to enter the U.K. generic design assessment (GDA) process. This is TerraPower’s first step in deployment of its Natrium technology—a 345-MW sodium fast reactor coupled with a molten salt energy storage unit—on the international stage.
International Conference on Physics of Reactors 2024 Plenary SPeaker
Senior Manager
Fuel Development & Qualification
TerraPower
James Vollmer has worked the past twelve years at TerraPower in several different roles. He is currently the Senior Manager of Fuel Development & Qualification, where his group is responsible for fuel performance methods development and assessments, fuel fabrication development, and fuel testing and qualification activities to support the Natrium™ project. Prior to taking this role he has held a series of other management positions within TerraPower, including Senior Manager of Nuclear Design, Manager of Materials & Chemistry, and Manager of Fuel Development. Some key technical contributions James has made to TerraPower include 1) preparing the fuel qualification topical report for the Natrium plant, 2) preparing fuel qualification plans for the TWR-P and TWR-300 plants; 3) providing technical direction for the Molten Salt Reactor Experimental Vehicle (MSR-EV) design effort for the Versatile Test Reactor (VTR); and 4) supporting development of the advanced Type 1B (and Type 2) fuel designs including design, fabrication, and oversight of a series of irradiation tests in the Advanced Test Reactor.
Prior to joining TerraPower, Dr. Vollmer spent nine years at Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory, where he applied computational methods to support fuel fabrication, design, and performance activities for the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program. He received Bachelor of Science degrees in chemistry, computer science, and mathematics from the College of the Ozarks, followed by a doctorate in physical chemistry from the University of Utah.
Last modified February 20, 2024, 7:38am PST
