PNNL

PNNL Speaker Schedule

See the full list of PNNL panelists, presentations, and posters, arranged by track: 

Environmental Management Presentations

The Department of Energy's Genesis Mission – Bringing Together AI, Cleanup and New Nuclear to Drive American Innovation and Energy Dominance

Panel Discussion: Deb Gracio

MONDAY, MARCH 9

This session focuses on The Genesis Mission - the premier US scientific initiative the DOE is leading to revolutionize scientific discovery by integrating artificial intelligence (AI), powerful supercomputers, and vast government datasets in a unified platform for accelerated research in areas like energy, materials, medicine and national security.

The Role of National Laboratories in Delivering Value Through National Missions

Panel Discussion: Angela Becker-Dippmann

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11

This session focuses on the US and Non-US National Laboratories and their role in delivering benefit to the sector and society more broadly. The panel shared their approaches in supporting nationally critical missions ranging from Environmental Restoration to Clean Energy, including how they are building skills and critical nuclear infrastructure for the future.

DOE EM Testbeds: A Path to Deployment for Safe and Effective Cleanup

Roundtable: Matthew Asmussen

TUESDAY, MARCH 10

This session focuses on the DOE EM Test Bed Program. The DOE-EM Technology Development Office (EM-TDO) is advocating the EM site Testbed Program (TBP) to facilitate the use of EM’s unique environments, constructed facilities, and virtual platforms to evaluate innovative research and development and deployment, advance technologies that facilitate, safely accelerate, and cost effectively conduct the EM cleanup work. The TBP can assist commercial product developers, academic investigators, and EM’s laboratories and contractors to mature products and research while enhancing EM missions and leveraging resources. 

Leveraging Artificial Intelligence to Advance DOE-EM’s Mission

Panel Discussion: Inci Demirkanli

TUESDAY, MARCH 10

This session focuses on leveraging Artificial Intelligence to advance the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management (DOE-EM)’s mission. AI is a key enabling technology that has been proven to accelerate and enhance research and development in the areas of additive manufacturing, biomanufacturing, materials design, waste processing, remote monitoring, and more. As the field of AI research rapidly evolves, it is expected to continue to drive innovation and success for DOE-EM, offering the potential to decrease cost, improve safety and security, reduce risk, and expedite mission completion.

Waste Processing Presentations

Applying Actual Waste Results to Sludge Treatment Options at the Hanford Site

Track 2: Reid Peterson

MONDAY, MARCH 9

The primary goal of this work is to accelerate the overall cleanup mission schedule at the Hanford Site by enabling Direct Feed High-Level Waste by remediating slurry properties from the southeast quadrant of the site. This work involves a blend of actual waste and simulant work to help remediate the physical properties of tank waste to enable success in tank processing at the Hanford site. Hanford waste contains a unique blend of fast settling gibbsite from PUREX cladding along with zirconia rich streams from N-reactor and uranium rich streams from the original bismuth phosphate process.

Preparing a Comprehensive On-Line Monitoring Platform for Future Deployment

Track 2: Amanda Lines

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11

Integration of multiple sensors onto a waste transfer or processing line can provide in situ and real-time characterization of that material. To meet operational needs, sensors that can provide an array of chemical and physical property information are needed. Furthermore, these tools must include automated data analysis as well as statistically accurate means of error propagation in order to produce useful and trustworthy information for operators. This talk covers the progress on preparing a comprehensive on-line monitoring platform, including efforts to outline and meet site engineering and operation requirements.

Environmental Remediation Presentations

Generative AI for Calibrating Subsurface Remediation Simulators Using Time-Lapse Electrical Resistivity Tomography

Track 9: Tim C. Johnson

TUESDAY, MARCH 10

Generative AI methods are rapidly advancing, providing impactful new approaches for addressing long-standing challenges in subsurface remediation modeling and prediction. In this paper, we demonstrate how AI can be used to generate the modeling inputs required to predict subsurface remediation performance through numerical simulation, using geophysical monitoring data. Such methods have the potential to significantly improve accuracy, and address the uncertainty in subsurface remediation models, leading to improved remediation performance and reduced costs.  We demonstrate the approach synthetically on the in-situ soil flushing remediation conducted at the Hanford 100K Area.

New Modeling Tools for Estimating Vertical Concentration Profiles Around Long-Screened Wells

Track 9: Fred Day-Lewis

MONDAY, MARCH 9

In this talk, we present and demonstrate the use of numerical modeling of groundwater flow and contaminant transport around a long-screened well, accounting for complex interaction between the aquifer and well arising from well hydraulics, contrasts in permeability in different aquifer layers, and the construction of the well (e.g., screen placement and filter pack). Examples illustrate challenges of interpreting sampling results from long-screened wells, annular bypass where water moves vertically through the filter pack, and how simple well hydraulics can sometimes result in apparent contaminant rebound after the cessation of pump-and-treat.

Decontamination and Decommissioning Presentation

Physicochemical Interactions Between Fixative Spray AF-1000 and Contaminated Building Surfaces

Track 6: Sarah Saslow

TUESDAY, MARCH 10

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management oversees over 2,000 nuclear processing facilities ready for deactivation and decommissioning (D&D). Fixative spray technologies, such as AF-1000 by Advanced American Technologies, have the potential to quickly deliver safe and cost-effective facility deactivation by immobilizing contaminants on facility surfaces and preventing their spread. This study explored AF-1000's interactions with surrogate contaminants (Sr, Cs, Cr, Ce, Re) and common building materials (concrete, wood, steel, etc.), finding that AF-1000's physically encapsulates contaminants without altering their chemistry. Advanced characterization techniques were used to evaluate the immobilization mechanism and highlights AF-1000's potential for DOE D&D efforts.

Poster: Roy G. Post Foundation Scholarship Recipient

Enhancing Research Workflow with Python-Based Automation for Data Management

Track 10: Kai Spicer

SUNDAY, MARCH 8

Manual data transfer in nuclear waste research is both time-consuming and prone to error, limiting progress in critical modeling efforts. To overcome this, I partnered with the Radiological Materials team to develop automated Python tools that generate eSTOMP input cards for simulating long-term nuclear waste disposal. The tool’s intuitive GUI and integration with a real-world waste form database make complex modeling faster, more accurate, and accessible to all researchers. By reducing human error and freeing up valuable time, this innovation enables deeper insights into nuclear waste behavior and supports safer, more efficient waste management.

Automated Analysis of Spent Nuclear Fuel Characteristics: Recent Applications of the STANDARDS Data and Analysis Tool

Track 2: Veronica Wilson

THURSDAY, MARCH 12

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has developed the STANDARDS data and analysis tool to streamline data management, automate complex analyses, and improve the characterization of U.S. commercial spent nuclear fuel (SNF). Central to this capability is the Unified Database (UDB), a comprehensive database that consolidates key information related to SNF.  STANDARDS leverages this extensive dataset by using it within detailed depletion, decay, dose, criticality safety and thermal modeling. This paper provides an overview of recent applications of STANDARDS and the UDB, highlighting contributions to DOE Office of Spent Fuel and High-Level Waste Disposition’s mission.

Stakeholder Involvement in Transportation of Nuclear Waste

Panel Discussion: Miriam Juckett

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11

The session focuses on elements needed for success in engaging various stakeholders to safely and successfully transport nuclear waste.

Recommended Updates for ANSI N14.24, Domestic Barge Transport of Highway Route Controlled Quantities of Radioactive Materials

Track 5: Steve Maheras

MONDAY, MARCH 9

This paper develops recommendations for updating ANSI N14.24, American National Standard for Highway Route Controlled Quantities of Radioactive Materials – Domestic Barge Transport. The paper first discusses ANSI N14.24, then examines the recent barge shipments from Crystal River to the Waste Control Specialist (WCS) disposal facility in Andrews, Texas. The paper then presents specific recommendations for changes to ANSI N14.24 and summarizes the recommendations.

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