Jonathan Stephens

Manager, Nuclear Core Design at BWX Technologies

Speaker

Jonathan Stephens, P.E., is a nuclear engineer and manager at BWXT Advanced Technologies in Virginia. His 25-year career spans a wide range of nuclear reactor design and analysis projects, as well as research reactor operations and experimentation. He is currently leading the nuclear and thermal-hydraulic engineering design team at BWXT Advanced Technologies, which is responsible for nuclear thermal propulsion and advanced microreactor design efforts including DRACO, Project Pele, lunar Fission Surface Power, and BANR. BANR is a commercially focused high-temperature gas reactor (HTGR) system suitable for generating industrial heat and/or electricity on land or sea.

Prior to BWXT, Jonathan spent 7 years at Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory working on reactor physics and radiation shielding including shield design for the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO) project, followed by 15 years at AREVA/Framatome managing PWR reload analysis as well as physics codes and methods development. He has B.S. and M.S. degrees in nuclear engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he also served as a licensed SRO and Operations Supervisor of the university research reactor. A member of the Maritime Nuclear Application Group, Jonathan is a passionate proponent of utilizing advanced nuclear reactors for decarbonization of industry and transportation, and for providing clean and reliable energy to remote and catastrophe-stricken areas.