Global Hot Spots

press release: Hear the latest on global issues from a UW–Madison expert. In this installment of Global Hot Spots, Wilson will address how new reactor technologies and changing energy and environmental policies may offer hope for a continued role for nuclear power in Americans’ energy portfolio. In the 75 years since Enrico Fermi built the first reactor, nuclear energy has grown, and today about 100 reactors provide nearly 20 percent of U.S. electricity (and over 60 percent of the nation’s low-emission electricity). But economic pressures create challenges for some existing plants, and premature closure is guaranteed to result in higher emissions from their replacement.

Paul Wilson’s research interests focus on developing improved tools for computational modeling of complex nuclear energy systems, with applications in radiation shielding, waste management, nonproliferation, and energy policy. Wilson joined UW–Madison as an assistant professor in 2001 as part of the Energy Systems and Policy Hiring Initiative, and he currently serves as chair of the Energy Analysis and Policy Graduate Certificate, the executive committee of the Wisconsin Energy Institute, and the governance committee of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies. Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and raised in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Wilson began graduate school in nuclear engineering at UW–Madison and, after three years, moved to Karlsruhe, Germany. There he studied in the Institute for Neutron Physics and Reactor Engineering (of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) before returning to Madison and completing his doctorate in 1999.

This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required. Lunch is not provided, but lunch reservations at the Fluno Center can be made at 608-441-7117.

Public parking is available in the Fluno Center garage (Lot 83) at 314 N. Frances Street, in Lot 46 at 301 N. Lake Street, or in the Lake Street ramp at 415 N. Lake Street.