Where Reactor Science Meets Innovation
The TRTR Annual Conference is the preeminent gathering of professionals, researchers, and students working with test, research, and training reactors across the United States.
Hosted by the Nuclear Engineering Teaching Laboratory (NETL) at The University of Texas at Austin, the 2026 conference will feature technical sessions, facility tours, workshops, and networking opportunities spanning the full breadth of research reactor operations, science, and policy.
Conference Topics
We invite submissions covering all aspects of research, test, and training reactor science and operations (see examples).
Conference Schedule
The outline below reflects planned structure and is subject to change.
The detailed program will be published after abstract acceptance notifications.
NRC Day date to be confirmed with the NRC.
10:00 a.m. TRTR Executive Committee meeting
4:00 p.m. Registration open, exhibitor hall
1:00 p.m. ANSI Standards committee meeting
7:00 p.m. Welcome Reception
Submit Your Abstract
We welcome abstracts from researchers, operators, students, and industry professionals. Accepted papers will be scheduled for oral or poster presentation and included in the conference proceedings.
If you intend to present but are not ready to submit an abstract use the "Intent to Submit" option in "Submit Abstract"
To register your intent to submit a paper later, press Submit Abstract and select the Intent to Submit tab.
- Maximum 300 words, structured with objective, methods, results, and conclusions.
- Title limited to 20 words. Include all author names and affiliations.
- Select up to 3 topic areas from the conference topic list.
- Submission format: plain text or PDF via the online submission portal.
- Submissions accepted from presenting author only. Co-author details may be added in the submission form.
- Full manuscripts due 4 weeks after acceptance notification.
- Student submissions are encouraged
Questions about submissions? Contact the Program Committee at [email protected] (placeholder — to be updated).
Conference Hotel
Hotel Partnership Coming Soon
The conference will be held at the Residence Inn by Marriott Austin Downtown/Convention Center. The conference room rate is $199/night, valet parking $35/night or $20/day. A direct reservation link will be posted when available.
Nearby Hotel Options
The following hotels are within walking distance and participate in U.S. Government / GSA per diem rate programs. Present your government ID at check-in.
Texas' Advanced Nuclear Capital
Austin has emerged as a de facto headquarters for the advancing nuclear renaissance — home to a unique concentration of industry advocacy bodies, state policy offices, reactor developers with active manufacturing facilities, and a research reactor with license renewal progressing in a rapidly changing environment. No city outside the traditional federal laboratory corridors can match this density of nuclear activity.
Prototypes, test platorms, new reactor concepts, and fast builds are a pressure test for safety standards and quality assurance systems that are the core of legacy nuclear safty culture. This conference the center of active development is a timely reminder that shared expertise, experience, and research of the Test, Research, and Training Reactor community has an important role as the nuclear industry moves forward.
with an Austin presence
Development Fund
Facility — Aalo Atomics
for Liquid-Fueled Reactor
Texas Nuclear Alliance
The only industry association in Texas dedicated exclusively to advancing nuclear technology across the state. Headquartered in Austin, TNA hosts the annual Texas Nuclear Summit and is the primary voice of the nuclear industry at the state level.
Austin HQ
Texas Advanced Nuclear Energy Office
House Bill 14 directs TANEO lead Texas to a balanced energy future with innovative nuclear generation. It administers the $350 million Texas Advanced Nuclear Development Fund — one of the largest state-level nuclear investment programs in the country.
HB 14 — $350M Fund
Public Utility Commission of Texas
The PUCT regulates the state's electric, telecommunication, and water utilities, with growing oversight responsibilities as nuclear energy re-enters Texas's generation mix. Its decisions shape the policy and market framework for new reactor deployment statewide.
Texas Electricity Regulator
UT Energy Institute
The University of Texas Energy Institute coordinates interdisciplinary energy research, education, and policy engagement across UT Austin. It bridges academia, industry, and government to advance solutions across the full energy landscape — including nuclear.
UT Austin
Energy Week 2026
TRTR 2026 is timed to align with Austin's Energy Week — a convergence of energy industry events, policy forums, and networking across the city. Attendees gain access to a broader ecosystem of energy stakeholders at one of the sector's most active annual gatherings.
Austin · 2026
Aalo Atomics
Aalo opened a 40,000-square-foot headquarters and manufacturing facility in Austin — midway between downtown and the airport — where it is building its experimental Aalo-X microreactor and plans to manufacture its Aalo-1 sodium-cooled fast reactor on a factory production line.
40,000 sq ft Austin Facility
Last Energy
Last Energy, headquartered in Austin, Texas, is developing factory-built microreactors designed for rapid deployment to industrial customers. The company focuses on modular, repeatable nuclear plants to accelerate clean energy deployment worldwide.
Texas Deployment Planned
Natura Resources
Natura selected Abilene Christian University to lead the Natura Resources Research Alliance (4-university consortium of Texas A&M, UT Austin & Georgia Tech) to design, license, and build a molten salt research reactor on ACU's campus. The construction permit is the only NRC construction permit for a liquid-fueled reactor design in U.S. history.
Only NRC Liquid-Fuel Permit · ACU Lead
Subcritical Systems
Subcritical Systems is bringing the energy amplifier concept to the US to safely generate electrical power with a particle accelerator to sustain fission of nuclear fuel in a subcritical core generating power.
Accelerator-Driven Energy Amplifier
Atomic Alchemy — Groves Isotopes Test Reactor
A wholly owned subsidiary of Oklo (NYSE: OKLO), Atomic Alchemy is building the Groves Isotopes Test Reactor — a light-water-cooled, pool-type Versatile Isotope Production Reactor (VIPR) — in Caldwell County, Texas, as part of the planned Proto-Town Innovation Hub. The DOE approved their Nuclear Safety Design Agreement under the Reactor Pilot Program in March 2026, and the company is targeting criticality by July 4, 2026 — potentially making it operational before the TRTR conference. The facility is designed to produce isotopes for cancer diagnosis and treatment, advanced manufacturing, scientific research, space exploration, and national security, and will serve as a pilot for a planned multi-reactor isotope foundry.
DOE NSDA Approved · Criticality Target July 2026
Digital Twin Protoype for the TRIGA Mark II Research Reactor
UT Nuclear and Radiation Engineering Program researchers developed a protoype digital twin of the NETL TRIGA reactor, collecting data to calibrate faster than real-time performance predictor to support developing control methodolgy. The TRIGA reactor simulator, historical data, reactor core configuration, real-time data streaming, a first-of-a-kind web-based simulator, a state-of-the-art data-driven reactor controller and the physics-informed Shadowcaster engine are on disply at https://nuclear-twins.tacc.utexas.edu.
