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2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
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On moving fast and breaking things
Craig Piercycpiercy@ans.org
So much of what is happening in federal nuclear policy these days seems driven by a common approach popularized in the technology sector. Silicon Valley calls it “move fast and break things,” a phrase originally associated with Facebook’s early culture under Mark Zuckerberg. The idea emerged in the early 2000s as software companies discovered that rapid iteration, frequent experimentation, and a willingness to tolerate failure could dramatically accelerate innovation. This philosophy helped drive the growth of the social media, smartphones, cloud computing, and digital platforms that now underpin modern economic and social life.
Today, that mindset is also influencing federal nuclear policy. The Trump administration views accelerated nuclear deployment as part of a broader competition with China for technological and AI leadership. In that context, it seems willing to accept greater operational risk in pursuit of strategic advantage and long-term economic and security objectives.
International High-Level Radioactive Waste Management Conference
Technical Session
Tuesday, November 15, 2022|1:00–2:45PM MST|Noble
Session Chair:
Sharlissa Moore (PNNL)
Alternate Chair:
Sara Hogan (US DOE)
Session Organizer:
Brady D. Hanson
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Engaging Communities and Other Stakeholders to Develop and Implement a Socially Acceptable Consent-Based Siting Process
1:00–1:20PM MST
Mahrez Ben Belfadhel (Consultant), Evaristo J. (Tito) Bonano (NAC Int'l.), Emily Stein (Sandia)
Paper
Communities who Currently Host Nuclear Waste -- Learning from Their Experiences
1:20–1:40PM MST
James A. Hamilton (Nuclear Decommissioning Collaborative), Elisabeth Graffy (PNNL), Emily Stein (Sandia)
Status of the Site Investigation and Site Selection Process for a Deep Geological Repository in Switzerland
1:40–2:00PM MST
Herwig R. Muller (Nagra), Ingo Blechschmidt (Nagra), Stratis Vomvoris (Nagra), Tim Vietor (Nagra), Maurus Alig (Nagra)
Scenario Development in Safety Assessment
2:00–2:20PM MST
Kristopher L. Kuhlman (Sandia), Jeroen Bartol (Centrale Organisatie Voor Radioactief Afval), Alexander Carter (Nuclear Waste Services), Andree Lommerzheim (BGE Technology), Jens Wolf (Gesellschaft für Anlagen- und Reaktorsicherheit)
Arius Association: Twenty Years Promoting Multinational Waste Disposal
2:20–2:40PM MST
Charles McCombie (Arius Assoc.), Neil Chapman (Arius Assoc.), Christina Boutellier (Arius Assoc.)
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