Itinerary
Day Three: Saturday, August 23,2008
8:30 a.m. Continental Breakfast
9 a.m. Keynote Address
Dr. Samuel W. Bodman, Secretary of Energy, United States Department
of Energy, Washington, DC, Invited
While there has been much talk in recent years about America's need to reduce its dependence on foreign oil, and substantial disagreement on how best to achieve that goal, most parties to the discussion agree that energy independence is a National Security issue. What is the Federal Government's perspective on commercial nuclear energy and its place in energy independence and national security discussions? What role should the government play in developing the next generation of commercial nuclear energy plants?
9:45 a.m. BREAK
10 a.m. Panel Five: 21 st Century Technology and the Nuclear Energy Industry
Overview: Decades have passed since the last new commercial nuclear power facility came on-line. Technology developed in the interim may result in cleaner, safer nuclear facilities. Panelists will describe those technologies, their impact on safety, and what it all means to workers and residents of communities located near next-generation commercial nuclear facilities.
Moderator: Mr. Jim Little, President, Washington Safety Management Solutions,
Washington Division of URS Corporation, Aiken, SC
Panelist: Dr. Travis W. Knight, Assistant Professor of the Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Nuclear Engineering Program, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
Panelist: TBA
Panelist: TBA
Questions and Answers
11 a.m. Panel Six:
The Community/Citizen Perspective on Nuclear Energy
Overview: Having listened to the preceding five panel discussions, panelists will offer the
"community" perspective on commercial nuclear energy. Given our nation's current state of energy dependence, are Americans willing to consider commercial nuclear energy as one part of a comprehensive national energy policy? What are the community's health, safety and Environmental Justice concerns? What will it take for communities to embrace commercial nuclear facilities as neighbors? And just where will we store the radioactive waste material from commercial nuclear facilities?
Moderator: Dr. Deborah Klein Walker, Past President of the American Public Health Association, Abt Associates, Inc., Cambridge, MA
Panelist: State Representative Harold Mitchell, South Carolina Legislature (D-SC), Director of Regenesis, Spartanburg, SC
Panelist: Mr. Charles A. Acquard, Executive Director, National Association of State Consumer Advocates (NASUCA), Silver Spring, MD
Panelist: Bishop James L. Black, Executive Director/Founder, Center for Environmental & Economic Justice, Biloxi, MS
Questions and Answers
12:15 p.m. Luncheon
1:30 p.m. Panel Seven: Workforce Development
for the Nuclear Energy Industry
Overview: The next generation of commercial nuclear energy facilities will require highly-skilled and trained professionals to plan, build and operate them. Panelists will discuss ways to address a critical and national shortage of engineering and other trained professionals needed to design, construct and operate commercial nuclear facilities.
Moderator: Dr. Lonnie Sharpe, Samuel P. Massie Chair of Excellence, Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN
Panelist: Mr. Jeffrey M. Allison, Manager, Savannah River Operations Office, Department of Energy, Aiken, SC
Panelist: Mr. Alan Torres, Construction Manager for Nuclear Development, South Carolina Electric & Gas (SCANA), Jenkinsville, SC
Panelist: TBA
Questions and Answers
2:45 p.m. BREAK
3:00 p.m. Closing Session: Energy and the
Election
Topic: With the 2008 Presidential Election occurring just three months after the
conference, candidates from the two major parties will be invited to offer their positions on nuclear energy as part of a comprehensive national energy policy designed to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil.
