This program will update and engage the audience about the rapidly evolving opportunities and challenges of deploying hundreds of advanced nuclear reactors in the U.S. and globally. The panel of experts will address the state-of-the-art technology and future directions for its deployment, necessary policies, and potential paths to risk mitigation.
Greg Gershuny
(Moderator)
Greg Gershuny is the Executive Director of the Aspen Institute Energy and Environment Program (EEP) and Co-Director of Aspen Ideas: Climate, a public forum focused on climate solutions. The Energy and Environment Program works with people, organizations, and governments to take greater action on solving climate change. Prior to joining the Aspen Institute in 2016, Greg served as the Chief of Staff for Energy Policy at the U.S. Department of Energy, and in several roles at the White House, including Director of Energy and Environment at Presidential Personnel and as a Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy advisor under President Barack Obama.
Dr. Kathryn Huff
Dr. Kathryn Huff leads the Office of Nuclear Energy as the Assistant Secretary. Prior to her current role, she served as a Senior Advisor in the Office of the Secretary. Dr. Huff also led the office as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy. Before joining the Department of Energy, she was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where she led the Advanced Reactors and Fuel Cycles Research Group. She was also a Blue Waters Assistant Professor with the National Center for Supercomputing Applications. She was previously a Postdoctoral Fellow in both the Nuclear Science and Security Consortium and the Berkeley Institute for Data Science at the University of California - Berkeley.
She is an active member of the American Nuclear Society, a past Chair of the Nuclear Nonproliferation and Policy Division as well as the Fuel Cycle and Waste Management Division, and recipient of both the Young Member Excellence and Mary Jane Oestmann Professional Women's Achievement awards. Through leadership within Software Carpentry, SciPy, the Hacker Within, and the Journal of Open Source Software she also advocates for best practices in open, reproducible scientific computing.
She received her PhD in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2013 and her undergraduate degree in Physics from the University of Chicago. Her research focused on modeling and simulation of advanced nuclear reactors and fuel cycles.
Dr. Melissa Lott
Dr. Melissa C. Lott is the Director of Research and a Senior Research Scholar at Columbia University’s SIPA Center on Global Energy Policy. She currently serves as a member of the United Nations Council of Engineers for the Energy Transition (CEET) and the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on the Future of Economics of Equitable Transition.
Dr. Lott has worked as an engineer and advisor for nearly 20 years in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Her work focuses on increasing our understanding of the impacts of energy systems on climate change and public health. She applies this understanding to help decision-makers mobilize solutions to support the transition to net-zero. Dr. Lott has authored hundreds of publications and been featured in media outlets including the New York Times, PBS, the BBC World Service, The Guardian, Good Morning America, National Public Radio, and the Wall Street Journal. She currently hosts The Big Switch podcast.
Dr. Lott previously served in roles at the Asia Pacific Energy Research Centre, International Energy Agency, and the U.S. Department of Energy. She holds degrees from the UC Davis (B.S.), UT Austin (M.S. and MPAff), and University College London (Ph.D.).
Jeff Navin
Jeff Navin is Director of External Affairs, and oversees TerraPower’s government affairs, public policy, communications, and stakeholder engagement efforts. He is a co-founder and is currently a partner at Boundary Stone Partners, a government affairs and communications firm advising companies, advocacy organizations, and public policy think tanks working to solve the world’s most challenging problems.
Navin has a deep background in government and communications. After serving in the federal government for over 15 years, he co-founded Boundary Stone Partners, a public policy, government affairs, and communications consulting firm specializing in clean energy and transportation. In government, he served as Chief of Staff and Deputy Chief of Staff to Secretaries Steven Chu and Ernest Moniz. In those roles, he helped manage the Department of Energy’s research and deployment efforts, climate and energy policy initiatives, and nuclear national security missions.
Navin received his B.A. from the University of South Dakota, and his J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center. He is a Harry S Truman Scholar and serves as Chair of the Center on Rural Innovation, 501(c)3 organization that supports economic development in rural areas.