Dr. Mark Peters
Director
Idaho National Laboratory

Abstract

The answer to that question will be determined largely by how we answer another: How do we meet future energy needs while mitigating climate change?

If the goal is to decarbonize our power grid, manufacturing processes and transportation systems, while increasing the standard of living in the U.S. and providing power to the more than 1.3 billion people worldwide currently living without, nuclear energy must be part of a mix that includes renewables such as solar and wind.

The nuclear reactors of the future will be different, however, than those currently in operation in the U.S. and around the world.

Through private-public partnerships and cutting-edge research conducted at Idaho National Laboratory, the U.S. is working to develop reactors that are safer, smaller, cheaper to build and operate, and which produce less spent fuel.

But, questions remain:

Will the U.S. open a national repository for spent fuel and Cold War nuclear waste?

Can the public be convinced that nuclear energy’s disadvantages are outweighed by its contributions to the safety, reliability and stability of our power grid, as well as our economy, environment and national security?

Will policymakers continue to make the investments necessary to ensure that the commercial nuclear energy industry, an American creation that generates 19 percent of our electricity and more than half of our carbon-free electricity, continues to power U.S. prosperity well into the 21^st century?

Dr. Mark Peters will address these questions, talk about the technical evolution of reactor designs, and detail growing bipartisan support for nuclear energy in Washington, D.C.

He also will discuss the research and development history that helped create the American nuclear energy industry, and the role INL and other national laboratories will play in developing and deploying the next generation of nuclear reactors.

Biography

Dr. Mark Peters is laboratory director at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). He is responsible for management and integration of a large, multipurpose national laboratory, with a mission focus in nuclear energy, national and homeland security, and energy and environmental science and technology. He manages an organization of 4,200 staff and multiple nuclear and non-nuclear experimental facilities, with an annual budget of more than $1 billion. Peters serves as a senior advisor to the U.S. Department of Energy on nuclear energy technologies and research and development programs, and nuclear waste policy. As a recognized expert in nuclear fuel cycle technologies and nuclear waste management, Peters is called upon frequently to provide expert testimony to Congress in formulation of policies for nuclear fuel cycles, nonproliferation and nuclear waste disposal. Peters was honored in 2015 as a Fellow of the American Nuclear Society for outstanding accomplishments in the area of nuclear science and technology. Peters serves as chairman of the National Laboratory Directors Council Executive Committee.

Professional Organizations

Peters serves as co-chairman of the Idaho governor’s Leadership in Nuclear Energy (LINE) Commission, which is tasked with recommending policies and actions that enhance INL’s long-term viability.

Former Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter appointed Peters to the board of the Idaho STEM Action Center, a statewide effort to promote science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education in Idaho’s public schools.

Peters serves on the Idaho Business for Education Board of Directors. IBE is a nonprofit organization that works to develop an education system that results in graduates who are workforce ready.

Peters serves on the board of directors for the Nuclear Energy Institute and the Foundation for Nuclear Studies. He is an active member of the Geological Society of America, where he served as a member of the Committee on Geology and Public Policy.

He is a member of the American Geophysical Union, the Geochemical Society, the Mineralogical Society of America, and the American Nuclear Society (ANS). He served on the ANS’ Public Policy Committee and on the executive committee of the ANS’ Fuel Cycle and Waste Management Division.

As a result of his professional achievements, Peters has been elected to Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society, Sigma Gamma Epsilon, and the Earth Sciences Honorary Society.

Professional History

Previously, Peters was associate laboratory director for energy and global security at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). He was responsible for the management and integration of the laboratory’s energy and global security programs. As associate laboratory director, he managed an organization of 800 staff with an annual budget of more than $250 million. Prior to that, Peters was deputy laboratory director for programs at Argonne. He was responsible for management and integration of the laboratory’s science and technology portfolio, strategic planning, the Laboratory-Directed Research and Development program, and technology development and commercialization. Prior to that, as a deputy associate laboratory director for energy sciences and engineering, he was responsible for the development of new program opportunities at the laboratory, particularly in the areas of energy storage, nuclear energy, nuclear safety and waste management. He served as an expert advisor to the DOE Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI) and as AFCI national campaign director for waste forms and used fuel disposition.

As a scientist with Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, Peters served as senior scientist to the director of the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM), and was the external spokesman for the OCRWM science and technology programs. Peters was widely recognized for his efforts in addressing and resolving sensitive policy and technical issues on used fuel disposition. He led interactions with independent technical, oversight, and regulatory bodies, and was commended by the OCRWM director for his efforts. In a prior position at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Peters managed the science and engineering testing program at the Yucca Mountain Project.

Before joining Los Alamos National Laboratory, Peters was a research fellow in geochemistry at the California Institute of Technology, where his research focused on trace-element geochemistry. He has authored more than 60 scientific publications, and is a recognized expert at national and international meetings.

He held an adjunct faculty appointment in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Northwestern University and was a senior fellow in the Northwestern Argonne Institute of Science and Engineering from 2013 to 2015. Peters serves on advisory boards and councils, including several that support innovation and economic development. These include Harman’s Innovation Advisory Council, University of Illinois at Chicago College of Engineering Advisory Board, and the Scientific Advisory Committee for Notre Dame’s Energy Frontier Research Center.

Education

Peters received his doctorate in geophysical sciences from the University of Chicago and his bachelor’s in geology from Auburn University. He completed the Strategic Laboratory Leadership Program at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

***This seminar will be streamed live on our NCStateNuclear YouTube channel***