Understanding Tomorrow's Nuclear Energy lectures continue Oct. 24 with Director-General Magwood; past lectures online

Purdue University and Duke Energy will host Nuclear Energy Agency Director-General William D. Magwood IV on Oct. 24 in the next installment of the Understanding Tomorrow’s Nuclear Energy Lecture Series.

Magwood will present “The 21^st Century Nuclear Resurgence: Opportunities and Challenges” from 3-4 p.m. ET in the Purdue Memorial Union North and South Ballrooms.

The event will be livestreamed, and registration is required for both in-person and virtual attendance.

Director-General William D. Magwood IV Download image

Save the date now for Nov. 30 when Richard K. Lester, Japan Steel Industry Professor and associate provost at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will present as part of both the Understanding Tomorrow’s Nuclear Energy Lecture Series and the Purdue Engineering Distinguished Lecture Series. Lester’s talk will take place from 3:30-4:15 p.m. ET and will be followed by a panel discussion from 4:15-5 p.m.

More about Director-General Magwood and “The 21^st Century Nuclear Resurgence: Opportunities and Challenges” 

With extensive experience in both the regulatory and developmental aspects of nuclear energy, including at the international level, Director-General Magwood has served in his current role at the Nuclear Energy Agency since 2014. Prior to that he served as one of the five commissioners to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and was director of the U.S. government’s civilian nuclear energy program at the Department of Energy.

Magwood’s “The 21^st Century Nuclear Resurgence: Opportunities and Challenges” will review the factors and considerations that have led to a surge in interest in nuclear energy around the world, the likes of which have not been seen since the beginning of the nuclear energy era more than 60 years ago. He will highlight the issues that could lead to failure if not quickly and adequately addressed and to the structural barriers that will require new thinking by regulators and policymakers in many countries if success is to be in our reach.

Past Understanding Tomorrow’s Nuclear Energy lectures

• “Clean Nuclear Energy: Past, Present and Future” was presented by Dr. Arden Bement, Purdue’s David A. Ross Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Nuclear Engineering, on Aug. 30. The recorded presentation and postlecture summary are available online.
• “A New Landscape for New Nuclear” was presented by Maria Korsnick, president and CEO of the Nuclear Energy Institute, on Oct. 5. The recorded presentation and postlecture summary are available online.

Purdue University and Duke Energy are jointly exploring the feasibility of using advanced nuclear energy to meet the West Lafayette campus community’s long-term energy needs. The study is focused on whether power produced through Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) could be a potential fit for Purdue’s energy needs. More about the study and the lecture series is available at https://bit.ly/advanced-nuclear.