Working to Automate Nuclear Plant Operations for Cleaner Energy

Lauren Fortier, a second-year doctoral student in the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering at MIT, is tackling a critical challenge that could make nuclear power more viable as a clean energy source. To achieve this goal, she’s developing remote operation protocols for autonomous control of nuclear plants. This effort aims to address one of the main hurdles preventing wider adoption: making nuclear energy competitively priced and economical to produce.