Last week, University of Wyoming’s School of Energy Resources (SER) hosted the RENEW Nuclear Energy conference. Students, experts, and other attendees met up at the UW Conference Center to discuss the future of nuclear energy in Wyoming and across the globe.
The event, which took place on April 13th and 14th, was attended by distinguished guests such as Nuclear Energy Resource Center (NERC) co-Directors Tara Righetti and Caleb Hill, SER outreach director Christine Reed, University of Wyoming President Edward Seidel, and Dr. Katy Huff, Assistant Secretary for the Office of Nuclear Energy at the US Department of Energy.
“In order to realize the vision that this planet is going to have to adopt in order to avoid the worst consequences of climate change, we must advance nuclear power. As we advance nuclear power in the United States we […] can ensure that industry is ready to deploy the skill needed to,” said Huff.
The RENEW event was targeted primarily towards active faculty, staff and students at UW with the goal of achieving tangible research opportunities. Events included networking opportunities, panel discussions, and talks from a variety of nuclear energy experts.
It also included breakout groups, where participants could go more in depth into specific topics surrounding nuclear energy, such as environmental justice, economics of nuclear power, and chemical separations for fuel reprocessing.
“I’m blown away by the response to this. I really want to thank everybody who’s pulling this together, […] it’s just fabulous. And maybe the fact that I’m here, just is a sign how committed the university is to this entire activity,” said President Ed Seidel.
Huff echoed the President’s sentiments about the importance of the event to the University of Wyoming.
“Here at RENEW, I’m really excited to talk today about the department’s mission and goals in the Office of Nuclear energy’s priorities. And of course, as a professor, I’m thrilled to discuss the role that universities play in that innovation in our mission, our priorities, and the vision that we have for the future.” said Huff.
“If we don’t work really aggressively to cowboy up, I don’t think we’re going to [achieve our nuclear energy goals]. And so it’s events like this that make sure people have a conversation about how to really accomplish it. And I think those conversations are happening now,” said Huff.
