The Center for Nuclear Security Science and Policy Initiatives (NSSPI) and the Texas A&M University Student Chapter of the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management (INMM) hosted the Pebble Bed and TRISO-Fueled Reactor Nonproliferation Workshop from February 3–6, 2025. The workshop attracted over 40 technical and policy experts who discussed critical nonproliferation and safeguards challenges associated with Pebble Bed Reactors (PBR) and TRISO-fueled reactor technologies as these move closer to commercial deployment.
The workshop’s Keynote speakers included Dr. Jeremy Whitlock, former Senior Technical Advisor at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Ms. Laura Rockwood, Vice President of INMM and Senior Fellow at the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation; Texas A&M Distinguished Professor Dr. K.L. Peddicord; and former Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy and Texas A&M Professor of Practice Dr. Warren “Pete” Miller. All of the speakers emphasized that next-generation reactors are likely to be deployed in the near future and that the proactive development of safeguards methodologies suitable for these technologies is of utmost importance. Dr. Whitlock, in particular, spoke to the need to implement safeguards-by-design for these emerging reactor types to ease the burden on organizations like the IAEA that will be tasked with ensuring they are being used for peaceful purposes.
Throughout the four-day event, attendees participated in 26 technical presentations covering material control and accounting, assay methods, reactor modeling and simulation, fuel cycle considerations, and physical protection and security. Presenters included both professionals and students representing U.S. national laboratories, universities, industry partners, and international organizations.
A highlight of the workshop was a panel discussion featuring Dr. Whitlock, Dr. Alexis Trahan (IAEA), Dr. Ben Cipiti (Sandia National Laboratories), and Ms. Margaret Ellenson (Kairos Power). The panelists fielded questions from the audience and were able to offer their perspectives on the challenges and benefits associated with safeguards and security by design.
Attendees also toured Texas A&M’s Center for Advanced, Small, and Micro Reactors (CASMR), including the NuScale reactor simulator and experimental facilities dedicated to small modular reactor (SMR) research.
Texas A&M Ph.D. student and past INMM Student Chapter President Thomas DeGuire led the workshop organizing committee. Other key organizers included current INMM Student Chapter President Christine Mathew serving as Hospitality Coordinator, INMM Student Chapter Treasurer Dillon Caldwell serving as Reception Coordinator, Zach Lassater serving as Volunteer Coordinator, Ebube Okolo serving as Welcome Coordinator, and INMM Student Chapter Vice President and past INMM Student Chapter President Grace Long. Other Texas A&M INMM Student Chapter members and nuclear engineering students volunteered to help keep the event running smoothly.
The workshop aimed to foster collaboration among reactor developers, safeguards experts, researchers, and students to strengthen research networks and facilitate future advancements in nonproliferation for small modular and advanced reactor types. One participant noted that a major benefit of the workshop was “Bringing together people working on different aspects and being able to talk to each other and understand each other’s needs.” Another participant added, “The ability to get individuals together in this subject area was extremely great and well worth the time. It allowed all of us to have time to talk about a very niche field.”