Description: Energy is the key to prosperity, and the world demand for energy will continue to grow. This growth will be particularly significant in developing countries. Nuclear energy will be an important part of that energy growth, as it provides clean, safe, affordable energy. There are many signs that nuclear energy is expanding. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has developed new licensing procedures for nuclear reactors, and many applications are in process. The Generation IV program is developing the next generation of reactors. The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP), a global approach to the expansion of nuclear energy, seeks to enable the expansion of nuclear energy worldwide in a safe, secure, and sustainable manner. The GNEP concept includes assured fuel supply and take-back for countries that agree to forgo fuel full cycle capabilities. Implementation of GNEP includes closure of the nuclear fuel cycle, where used fuel from reactors is recycled, enabling the utilization of the energy still available in the used fuel, and reducing the amount of material that must be disposed of for long periods of time.

Biography: Dr. McCarthy currently serves as the Director for the Systems Analysis Campaign for the Department of Energy Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP), and is Deputy Associate Laboratory Director for Nuclear Science & Technology at the Idaho National Laboratory. She is an Affiliate Faculty member with Idaho State University. She received her B.S. in Nuclear Engineering, at the University of Arizona in 1983; M.S., 1986 and Ph.D., 1989, in Nuclear Engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. McCarthy was a Guest Scientist at the Kernforschungszentrum (Nuclear Research Center) in Karlsruhe, Germany, March-September 1989, and spent a year in the Soviet Union with the Department of Energy US/USSR Young Scientist Program, at the Efremov and Kurchatov Institutes in Russia, and the Latvian Academy of Science in Latvia September 1989-August 1990. She is a member of the American Nuclear Society, beginning as a student in 1979, and has served on the ANS Board of Directors 2002-2008 (two terms), is the former Vice Chair of Professional Women in ANS, the ANS Planning Committee, Fusion Energy Division Chair (2000-2001), Vice-Chair (1999-2000) and Executive Committee (1996-1999), American Nuclear Society Idaho Section Chair (2001-2002) and Vice-Chair (2000-2001), and the University of Arizona Student Chapter ANS President (1982-83). Her awards include an American Nuclear Society Presidential Citation in 2007, the 2000 ANS Women's Achievement Award, 1996 International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor U.S. Home Team Leadership Award, the 1994 David Rose Award for Excellence in Fusion Engineering.