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Please join the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center for the next episode of EnergySource Innovation Stream. The series highlights new energy technologies with the potential to reshape the global energy system through discussions with companies and individuals working diligently to bring those innovations to market at scale. On Friday, April 9, from 9:30 – 10:00 a.m. EDT, the Global Energy Center will host Dr. Kemal Pasamehmetoglu, the Executive Director for the Versatile Test Reactor (VTR) Project at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) who will discuss how the VTR supports research, development, and demonstration of innovative nuclear energy technologies.
The experimental results from a VTR will provide valuable information on how fuels, materials, components, and instruments withstand extreme conditions inside nuclear power plants. The test reactor mimics decades of wear and tear sustained in a power reactor core. This enables scientists and engineers to design safer, longer lasting and more efficient fuels, materials, and components for nuclear energy systems as well as sensors for tracking reactors’ operations. The VTR is the first new test reactor that the US Department of Energy has pursued in at least 30 years. Kemal Pasamehmetoglu, executive director of the VTR project, will offer an overview of the facility, including how it will help the United States achieve clean energy and national security goals.
Please join this conversation via the web application Zoom, which is accessible through your web browser, the Zoom desktop or mobile app, and by phone. If you wish to join the question and answer period, you must join by app or web. You must register to receive further information on how to join the virtual audience.
Featuring
Dr. Kemal Pasamehmetoglu, Executive Director for the Versatile Test Reactor (VTR) Project
Dr. Kemal Pasamehmetoglu has been with the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) since 2004, currently serving as the Executive Director for the Versatile Test Reactor (VTR) Project.
Internationally, Kemal chairs the Nuclear Science Committee under the Nuclear Energy Agency of OECD (Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development). Previously he served as the Associate Laboratory Director for the Nuclear Science & Technology Directorate between 2012 and 2017. He was instrumental in the launch of the Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) initiative and initially served as the director for GAIN after its inception. Kemal also served as the national technical director (NTD) for Advanced Fuels Research and Development in the Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative while also serving as the Nuclear Fuels and Materials Division Director at INL between 2005 and 2012. During his tenure as a fuels and materials division director and as an NTD, he has focused on transforming nuclear fuels research and development capabilities in the nation and at INL into world-leading endeavors.
Prior to his time at INL, he held senior technical leadership positions at Los Alamos National Laboratory where he worked between 1986 and 2004. He started his career working on light-water reactor safety research.
He holds a doctorate in mechanical engineering from the University of Central Florida and has more than 34 years of research and engineering experience within the Department of Energy (DOE) National Laboratory system.
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