Atomic Show #308 – Alyssa Hayes, Nuclear Energy Advocate
Alyssa Hayes is a leader in the pro-nuclear movement. She is a PhD candidate in nuclear engineering at the University of Tennessee and she has been interested in policy making and politics since interning with her local representative when she was 14 years old.
She was involved in the successful efforts to save four nuclear power stations (Clinton, Quad Cities, Byron and Dresden) in Illinois and she was recently named the Generation Atomic Volunteer of the Month.
She visited the Atomic Show to share her passion for nuclear energy, her firm understanding of its importance in addressing climate change and providing abundant energy for everyone, and her professional interest in nuclear reactor safeguards technologies and policies that can enable nuclear power proliferation without leading to nuclear weapons proliferation.
Alyssa has a strong interest in broadening access to the nuclear industry and to its professional technical organizations. She is active in the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committees of the ANS, but the activity that she is most proud of is her role as an organizer for a group called the Computational Research Action Network (CRANE). She is excited about that group’s focus on doing direct work to improve skills and its proactive attitude towards addressing challenges.
When someone came up with the idea, instead of creating red tape and having discussions about the best way to do it, we just did it. That thing that we’re doing is teaching computational physics methods to primarily undergraduate but also graduate students from underrepresented backgrounds in computational physics.
Alyssa also shared a story about her recent trip to Europe and her tour of a recently closed German nuclear power plant.
You’ll enjoy the show. It will improve confidence that the future of nuclear energy is bright and that its promise is attracting energetic, committed, talented individuals who are focused on building a better tomorrow.
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Another good podcast.
This woman was inspiring. Maybe, I’ll even change some of my couch potato ways and get out and do some good in the world as she does. Come to think of it – Rod does a lot of good too.
It’s possible that Germany could restart their nuclear plants. The Green Party of Finland actually endorses nuclear power. I guess Hell does not have to freeze over for people to change their mind. The fact that the future state of the planet depends on clean energy is a big incentive to allowing one’s mind to be open.
Once again the Zion plant was mentioned. If it hadn’t been shut down, it could be producing clean energy today.
Rod’s comment on wind and solar being an incomplete solution resonated with me. Last Friday I drove North on I-39 in Illinois. There wasn’t enough wind for the hundreds of windmills that line the interstate to be spinning. I passed through the town of Byron There I saw water vapor clouds glistening in the afternoon sun from the nuke plant’s cooling towers. Without her work, that plant may have been shut down. A lot less clean energy would be produced.