Carol Tansley, Vice-President, Projects of X-Energy has been awarded the prestigious Pinkerton Prize for the best technical paper in the Nuclear Future journal.
The Pinkerton Prize, awarded in memory of JB Pinkerton, recognises authors and co-authors of articles of significant technical or scientific merit published in Nuclear Future. JB (John Brownlie) Pinkerton was the founder of the Institution of Nuclear Engineers (INucE). The INucE was one of the predecessor organisations that eventually formed the Nuclear Institute.
Carol received the prize at the NI/NIA Annual Dinner in London on 5 December. Published in two parts in Nuclear Future volume 19.4 and Vol 19.6, the paper is entitled: Potential for Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) to Improve Performance on Nuclear Megaprojects: Part I and II.
The papers address issues with 'nuclear megaprojects' and their poor project delivery records as a barrier to the implementation of new nuclear power. The overall conclusion is that while changes in the environment in which nuclear megaprojects are now being delivered, related to the climate change emergency and energy security imperatives, may provide appropriate ‘field-level conditions’ for eliminating barriers to adopting new practices, such as IPD, it will take initiative from so-called ‘institutional entrepreneurs’ to introduce the changes necessary for improving nuclear megaprojects performance.
Speaking about the award, Carol commented:
“I am delighted and honoured to receive the Pinkerton Prize for my papers that were published in the Nuclear Institute’s professional journal, Nuclear Future. I’m grateful to everyone who so generously gave up their time to contribute valuable insights and experiences to my research.
We know we can deliver nuclear megaprojects on time and budget, but to make good on the huge global opportunity for the nuclear sector, it’s critical we demonstrate we can do it consistently. I hope this paper offers some lessons from the past, and insights to help shape best practice in the future.”
Nuclear Future journal
Carol Tansley appeared as the cover interview in Nuclear Future March/April 2023. You can read this interview here.
For more information on the Nuclear Future journal and the Pinkerton Prize, visit Nuclear Future and explore the list of Pinkerton Prize winners on the winner list page.