Where is the Love? Why isn’t Nuclear Power Embraced as THE Clean Energy Source?
Nuclear power has maintained about a 20-percent share of the total annual generation of electricity in the US for three decades. It’s proven to be a safe, reliable, scalable, and clean source of electricity. Yet only one new reactor has come online in the US in the last quarter-century and new power plant closings have recently been announced. Dr. Dunzik-Gougar’s presentation will focus on (1) why environmentalists, those concerned about climate change, have not embraced nuclear power despite the fact that it emits no greenhouse gases, and (2) what proponents of nuclear power can do to raise the awareness of the benefits of nuclear power.
Bio: Dr. Mary Lou Dunzik-Gougar is Associate Dean of the College of Science and Engineering at Idaho State University. She has a PhD in nuclear engineering and MS in environmental engineering from Penn State University and a BS in chemistry from Cedar Crest College. Her nuclear career spans 25 years, during which time she has performed research in various aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle, including waste form development, spent fuel pyroprocessing, spent particle fuel qualification for disposal, fuel and material development and characterization (pre- and post-irradiation), development of a waste minimization plan for a next generation nuclear reactor design, and fuel cycle modeling. Dr. Dunzik-Gougar’s research has led to national and international collaborations, including a year-long position with PBMR Ltd in South Africa and a consulting contract with EDF energy of France. She has served as consultant/ subject matter expert for subsequent projects coordinated by the European Commission and the International Atomic Energy Agency. She has led multi-institutional teams of researchers at the Idaho National Laboratory and through Idaho State University. To share her expertise with a new generation of researchers, Dr. Dunzik-Gougar developed and teaches several senior/graduate level courses on the nuclear fuel cycle and radioactive waste management. In addition to her scholarly and technical supports, she has been an active member of the American Nuclear Society (ANS) at local and national levels for 25 years. In 2019, she was elected to serve as Vice-President/President Elect for ANS and she began her term as President in late June 2020
