Five Minutes to Change the Future: Los Alamos Showcases New Mexico’s Nuclear Innovation Ecosystem on August 25

Inaugural Los Alamos Nuclear Forum connects innovators, national laboratories, industry, government and communities across New Mexico’s full nuclear lifecycle.

RIO RANCHO, NM, UNITED STATES, August 17, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- On Aug. 25, innovators working across nuclear energy, fusion, medicine, space, environmental remediation and national security will take the stage at the inaugural Los Alamos Nuclear Forum for the NM Nuclear Innovation Showcase: Five Minutes to Change the Future.

The fast-paced, TED Talk-style showcase will give presenters approximately five minutes each to highlight technologies, projects and deployment opportunities helping shape America’s nuclear future.

But the Showcase also represents the larger idea behind the Forum: America’s nuclear future requires more than reactors. It requires an entire ecosystem.

“Most people never get to see all the pieces of the nuclear ecosystem connected in one place. Fuel, technology, capital, infrastructure, workforce and stewardship all have to come together. That’s the power of this Forum,” said Scott Lopez, Founder and CEO of the New Mexico Nuclear Alliance.

Five Minutes. Big Ideas.

The Showcase will feature Carrie Freeman, CEO of Eden Radioisotopes; Andy Phelps, CEO of Space Nuclear Corporation (“Space Nukes”); Dr. John Kline, Fusion Energy Sciences Program Manager at Los Alamos National Laboratory; Daria Sayan, Director of Regulatory Affairs for Grants Energy – General Atomics Uranium Resources; Greyson Buckingham, Co-Founder, President and CEO of DISA USA; Gretchen Lynn Gano of Sandia National Laboratories; and Casey DeRaad, CEO of NewSpace Nexus.

James Zahler, Program Director at Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Feynman Center for Innovation, will moderate.

In less than an hour, attendees will encounter fusion, nuclear medicine and radioisotopes, space nuclear technology, uranium and the fuel cycle, environmental remediation, national laboratory innovation and commercialization—all focused on moving ideas toward real-world applications.

And that’s only one hour.

More Than a Reactor

The Forum takes a similarly broad view of nuclear deployment. Chris Stanek, Director of Nuclear Energy Programs at Los Alamos National Laboratory, opens with “Powering America’s Next Industrial Era,” connecting AI, data centers, industrial reshoring, defense manufacturing, Permian Basin electrification, water infrastructure and growing demand for reliable 24/7 power.

Janet Lee-Sheriff, Director of the CLEAN Energy Association of New Mexico and CEO of Verdera Energy Group, will deliver opening remarks on New Mexico’s growing nuclear leadership, uranium’s role in the nuclear fuel cycle, and collaboration across industry, government, national laboratories, universities, utilities, Tribal communities and policymakers.

Leaders from Laramide Resources, General Atomics Uranium Resources, NANO Nuclear Energy, Urenco USA and Sandia National Laboratories will examine uranium, fuel security and the American nuclear supply chain, including ISR recovery, LEU and HALEU pathways, enrichment, legacy impacts and responsible deployment.

Antares Industries, Eden Radioisotopes, Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories will explore advanced reactors and microreactors and where they could be deployed—from utilities and defense to industry, data centers and water infrastructure.

From Innovation to Deployment

Technology alone isn’t enough. Deployment also requires people, partnerships and capital. Jennifer Hayden, President and CEO of the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History, will moderate a research-to-deployment discussion with New Mexico State Senator Ant Thornton, New Mexico Tech Professor Van Romero and Sandia’s Gretchen Lynn Gano focused on technology transfer, commercialization, advanced manufacturing and workforce development.

Eric Skrmetta, Principal Deputy Under Secretary at the U.S. Department of Energy, will discuss the Energy Dominance Fund and its potential role in mobilizing capital, attracting private investment and moving advanced nuclear and energy infrastructure toward deployment.

Responsibility Is Part of the System

New Mexico’s nuclear experience also demonstrates why leadership requires responsibility. The Waste Management, Transportation & Long-Term Stewardship discussion brings together State Representative Randall Pettigrew; Bobby St. John of Salado Isolation Mining Contractors at WIPP; and Gregory T. Roselle of Sandia National Laboratories, with Sylvia Saltzstein, Sandia National Laboratories Emeritus, moderating.

The discussion will address WIPP, legacy uranium impacts, abandoned uranium mine cleanup, RECA and Downwinders, transportation and storage, community engagement, environmental cleanup and long-term stewardship.

“New Mexico understands both the extraordinary contributions of the nuclear enterprise and the responsibilities that come with it,” Lopez said. “If we want to lead what comes next, innovation and stewardship have to move forward together.”

The Grid—and What’s Next

Hector Mendoza of Sandia National Laboratories will moderate The Grid-Nuclear Nexus with Luis Reyes, CEO of Kit Carson Electric Cooperative; Lynn Mostoller, Executive Director of the New Mexico Renewable Energy Transmission Authority; Ben Olbrich, Deputy Utility Manager for Power Supply at Los Alamos County; and Candice Yu, Director of Business Development at Kairos Power.

The panel will examine rising electricity demand, grid reliability and resilience, advanced nuclear integration, microreactors and emerging grid architectures.

The Forum then moves beyond conventional electricity generation with Frontier Nuclear Technologies, exploring fusion, space nuclear technologies, nuclear medicine and radioisotopes, remediation and national-security applications. Panelists include Carrie Freeman, Patrick McClure of Space Nuclear Power Corporation, Greyson Buckingham and John Kline, with James Zahler moderating.

Mr. Skrmetta will close the Forum with “Deploying America’s Nuclear Future.”

One Interconnected Ecosystem

Together, the program makes a larger point: America’s next nuclear era will not be built by one reactor, one company, one laboratory or one government program. It requires an ecosystem.

Uranium. Fuel. Advanced reactors. Fusion. AI. Grid. Space. Medicine. Security. Capital. Remediation. Transportation. Waste. Workforce. Stewardship. Deployment.

One day. One place. One interconnected nuclear ecosystem.

Los Alamos, New Mexico.

Built in New Mexico. Deploying for the Nation.

The Los Alamos Nuclear Forum will be held Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026, at SALA Event Center & Theater in Los Alamos, New Mexico, with in-person and virtual participation available.

For registration and the latest agenda, visit LosAlamosNuclearForum.com.

About the New Mexico Nuclear Alliance

The New Mexico Nuclear Alliance (NMNA) advances advocacy, policy and economic development across New Mexico’s full-nuclear lifecycle. NMNA connects industry, national laboratories, communities, policymakers and innovators to strengthen nuclear leadership, responsible stewardship and economic opportunity. Its work includes RECA awareness and outreach while recognizing New Mexico’s nuclear legacy and advancing innovation, jobs, energy security, national security and responsible nuclear development benefiting communities throughout New Mexico and the nation.

Scott Lopez
NM Nuclear Alliance
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