The Nuclear Energy Academic Roadmap (NEAR) is a collaborative effort aimed at strengthening the future of nuclear education and workforce capacity building in the United States. Led by the ORAU STEM Accelerator, this roadmap represents the combined expertise and dedication of educators, industry leaders, government agencies and other stakeholders working together to address one of the most pressing challenges facing the nuclear energy sector – building a skilled and resilient workforce.
On Thursday, May 14, 2026, industry leaders, educators, trade unions, government representatives, and community partners will meet on ORAU’s main campus and the Pollard Center in Oak Ridge for the Pathway to Trades Summit, a collaborative event focused on building and sustaining the nuclear trades pipeline. This is your chance to be part of a high-impact group of stakeholders dedicated to crafting solutions and driving meaningful change.
Oak Ridge is at the nexus of the nuclear energy renaissance. One of the challenges is meeting the demand for the necessary workforce, and not just the scientific and technical workforce but the skilled trades workers needed to build out and operate the small modular reactors and other facilities that are coming. On Thursday, May 14, ORAU is hosting the Pathway to Trades Summit, which will convene industry, trade unions, academia, government and other key players to begin to solve for meeting this important need. Laura Hammons, strategic programs and operations manager for the ORAU STEM Accelerator and key organizer of the summit, sits down with Michael Holtz to discuss why the Summit is important, what participants can expect, and what she hopes will happen next.
For more than 80 years, ORAU has served as a trusted partner to our government customers, our university consortium members, and our local community. In this video, you can meet some of the people behind the ORAU name.
