On October 24th Purdue University Professor of Nuclear Engineering Lefteri Tsoukalas will address a topic of immense interest to nuclear electric suppliers throughout the world. Electricity and water demand from Artificial Intelligence is placing an unprecedented strain on energy. This talk argues that meeting AI’s voracious energy appetite requires a fundamental shift in strategy. We propose that new nuclear generators be deployed including, but not limited to, Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), Micro Reactors (MR), and Fast Breeders burning spent fuel (aka nuclear waste) while creating fresh fuel. This strategy offers realistic solutions to our energy problems and a cost-effective, scalable alternative to fossil fuels. The presentation explores how AI can accelerate the atomic energy transition and outlines a policy framework that leverages the immense energy density of nuclear fuels to sustainably power the future of humanity while strengthening existing non-proliferation targets.

Lefteri H. Tsoukalas is the founding director of Purdue’s Center for Intelligent Energy Systems (CiENS) and a professor at Purdue University. He has over three decades of experience in developing AI/ML methods with over 300 publications including the textbooks Fuzzy and Neural Approaches in Engineering (co-authored with Robert E. Uhrig, Wiley, 1997); Fuzzy Logic: Applications in Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, and Machine Learning (McGraw Hill, 2024); and, Energy Transitions: The AI-Energy Nexus (World Scientific, 2025). Dr. Tsoukalas has served in several advisory and consulting capacities including at the OECD-NEA; the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (ASTAR) of Singapore; and the Secretariat of Research and Technology (GSRT) in Greece. Dr. Tsoukalas is a Fellow of the American Nuclear Society and the 2009 recipient of the Humboldt Prize, Germany’s highest honor for international scientists.