Rachel Slaybaugh, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Nuclear Engineering, The University of California, Berkeley
Bio:
Rachel Slaybaugh is an assistant professor of Nuclear Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. At Berkeley, Prof. Slaybaugh’s research program is based in computational methods and applied to existing and advanced nuclear reactors, nuclear non-proliferation and security, and shielding applications.
Topic: “Nuclear and Innovating in the Energy Industry”
To expand our ability to improve global health, the environment, and prosperity, a new level of innovation in nuclear energy is needed because nuclear must be an integral component of our low carbon strategy. However, nuclear faces both technical and non-technical challenges that prevent it from contributing as much as it could. This talk covers some of these challenges, what it might look like if we overcome those challenges, and some actions being taken in the U.S. to make this possible. Specifically, we’re building a pipeline:
1. To train university students and professionals in nuclear innovation to shift the mindset of the workforce by starting a Nuclear Innovation “Bootcamp” program.
2. To support startups and companies developing new ideas so they have a higher chance of success by building Nuclear Innovation Centers.
3. To allow private companies to access publicly-developed resources to lower the cost and technology barriers to success through the Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear, or GAIN.
These initiatives, supported by appropriate legislative changes and international engagement, can create a new set of opportunities for global nuclear innovation.
Presentation Materials:
Presentation Slides – Nuclear and Innovating the Clean Energy Landscape
Nuclear Innovation Bootcamp (5 min) video:
Here is the full video of the closing events and presentations of the Nuclear Innovation Bootcamp.
An approximate breakdown of timing, if you wish to skip to a particular section:
– minute 0 to 12: Welcome from Dean Sastry, showing of 5 minute bootcamp video, introduction from Kathy Shield
– minute 12 to 29: inspirational remarks from Rachel Slaybaugh
– minute 29 to 1:14: design group pitched + judging questions
– 1:14 to 1:37: Keynote speech from John Kotek
– 1:37 to end: Q&A for John, Rachel, and Groups