en.Wedoany.com Reported - Mark Peters, the 72nd President of the American Nuclear Society (ANS), recently assumed office and began formulating his work plan for the coming year. Peters believes the nuclear energy sector is entering a new era of increased public interest and stronger policy support, urging the industry to seize the opportunity to move projects from the planning stage to actual construction.
Peters previously served as Director of the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) from 2015 to 2020, during which he witnessed the inception of advanced reactor companies such as Oklo, Kairos, and X-energy. The development of these enterprises has been supported by several U.S. legislative acts, including the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act (NEIMA), the Nuclear Energy Leadership Act (NELA), and the Nuclear Energy Innovation Capabilities Act (NEICA), which also facilitated the enactment of the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy Act (ADVANCE Act). Additionally, the Department of Energy established initiatives such as the National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC) and the Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN).
Peters emphasized that the greatest current challenge is the need to "move from moving paper to moving dirt," meaning the industry must transition from planning to construction. He plans to focus his tenure primarily on workforce development, standards, and policy. With decades of experience in the nuclear field, Peters has worked in Alabama, California, Nevada, Illinois, Idaho, Ohio, and Virginia. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1964, he earned his undergraduate degree from Auburn University in 1986 and later pursued a Ph.D. in geochemistry at the University of Chicago. After graduation, he conducted postdoctoral research at the California Institute of Technology, focusing on meteorites.
Peters' nuclear career began with the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository Project, initially working as a contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in Las Vegas. He subsequently joined the Earth and Environmental Sciences Division at Los Alamos National Laboratory and served as a scientific advisor to Margaret Chu, Director of the DOE's Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management. He later spent 11 years at Argonne National Laboratory, holding positions as Associate Laboratory Director for Projects and Associate Laboratory Director for Energy and Global Security. In 2015, he became the Director of INL through Battelle and was named an ANS Fellow that same month. After leaving INL, he served as Executive Vice President for Laboratory Management and Operations at Battelle and is currently the President and CEO of MITRE.
Peters will celebrate his 20th anniversary as an ANS member during his presidency. He plans to work on policy and education based on the Society's role as "an objective, technically credible voice for information and advice," including educational advocacy from pre-K through graduate programs, as well as advancing the Society's future through certification and fundraising initiatives.
