UTES: Generation IV Nuclear Energy Systems

This week's featured speaker at the UT Energy Symposium is Kevan Weaver, Director of Technology Integration at TerraPower, LLC. His talk is titled "Generation IV Nuclear Energy Systems."

Dr. Weaver joined TerraPower in late 2007, and is currently the director of technology integration, where he is responsible for identifying, developing and maintaining U.S. and international joint programs and relationships that support TerraPower technology development. Before joining TerraPower, Dr. Weaver worked at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) for more than nine years in various capacities, all related to the development and use of advanced nuclear reactor concepts.

With much of his career in advanced reactor design and analysis, Dr. Weaver collaborated with fellow researchers on Generation IV nuclear energy systems, the Generation IV International Forum, and the Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative. His experience has allowed him to focus on some of the critical technical challenges facing advanced reactor concepts, such as the development and testing of advanced nuclear fuels and materials. His technical background includes reactor physics, reactor design, fuel cycle analysis, radiation spectroscopy, radioisotope production, and reactor operations. In addition, Dr. Weaver is the author/co-author of more than 90 publications and technical reports in nuclear science and engineering, and is a co-author of a textbook on fast spectrum reactors. Dr. Weaver received his BS degree in physics from Brigham Young University, and PhD degree in nuclear engineering from the University of Utah.

The UT Energy Symposium meets every Thursday during the long semesters. Come early to attend a networking session before the talk: refreshments will be served at 4:45 p.m. in the POB Connector Lobby outside the auditorium, followed by a 45-minute presentation and a 15-minute Q&A session.