Ira Harkness

Nuclear Engineer • Instructional Associate Professor @UF • Tweets about ⚛️💻🏞️🐊🏈🏀

[Ira Harkness @iraharkness]

@andreskabel2 Looking forward to this!

[Nick Touran @whatisnuclear]

We're hiring broadly across nuclear and maritime disciplines at Ocean Atomics. If you've got the skills and want a challenging, fun, and impactful change, hit us up. The untapped potential of civil nuclear-powered ships and other maritime infrastructure is a thrill. Job board below

[Aalo Atomics @AaloAtomics]

Aalo was founded 3 years ago. On July 4th, we turned on our first nuclear reactor.

Today, we're issuing an open call to technical and non-technical talent: help us unlock global energy abundance.

Over the coming years, we will scale assembly-line manufacturing of modular power plants, starting with powering data centers and ending with energy abundance.

View over 50 open roles spanning engineering, regulatory, manufacturing, software, and more at https://t.co/fLF7aptlia

[Office of Nuclear Energy | US Department of Energy @GovNuclear]

CRITICALITY NUMBER THREE! 🎉

On June 30, 2026, at around 11:55 PM MDT, @DeployableE’s Unity microreactor achieved initial criticality at @INL. It is the third nuclear test reactor this year to go critical under @ENERGY authorization.

Congratulations to Deployable Energy on reaching this historic milestone!

[Evangeline @eva_terry02]

I went up to @INL a couple days ago for @SecretaryWright's visit.

My takeaway: Creating reactors on a factory line will turn nuclear power from a project to a product.

Read more about @RadiantNuclear, @AntaresNuclear, @valaratomics and others!

https://t.co/7qJYD9a811

[John Carmack @ID_AA_Carmack]

If you are asking “Why push back against anti-datacenter efforts?” I consider it a tragedy that anti-nuclear efforts largely strangled nuclear power in the US based on vibes, and I don’t want to see that happen to AI. Public opinion matters, and it shouldn’t be ceded unchallenged.

If you are asking “Why should I support AI efforts at all?” I believe we are in the midst of a transition more vibrant than the industrial revolution. Opinions formed a couple of years ago about the uselessness of AI are no longer valid. Millions of people and organizations are getting great returns from using it, and the demand for data centers is the market responding to the value signal. That is how progress is made!

[UF Materials Science | Nuclear Engineering Program @UFMSE]

Congratulations to our four @UFMSE faculty members who were promoted this summer! 🎉 We are incredibly proud of your hard work, dedication and commitment to our college.

Join us in celebrating their achievements and #GoGators!

#ufmse #ufengineering

[Ira Harkness @iraharkness]

@pronounced_kyle We are both a little bit older now, but we love building LEGO space ships. We would love to look at and talk about real ones!

[Office of Nuclear Energy | US Department of Energy @GovNuclear]

🎉 WE HAVE CRITICALITY! 🎉

On June 4, 2026, at around 12:30 MDT, @AntaresNuclear’s Mark-0 microreactor achieved initial criticality at @INL.

It is the first nuclear test reactor to go critical under @ENERGY’s Reactor Pilot Program. Congratulations to Antares on reaching this historic milestone!

[Office of Nuclear Energy | US Department of Energy @GovNuclear]

Nuclear energy jobs include some of the highest-paying jobs in the entire energy industry, and many don’t require an advanced degree.

Check out our breakdown of the top trends in U.S. nuclear energy jobs in 2025: https://t.co/pTWZ8XjykU

[Ira Harkness @iraharkness]

@NuclearHazelnut @WECNuclear Awesome! This would make my year.

[Ira Harkness @iraharkness]

Today’s nuclear resurgence is rooted in a 1953 vision: using nuclear technology to benefit humanity. The engineering challenges have evolved, but the mission has not.

[Office of Nuclear Energy | US Department of Energy @GovNuclear]

On this day in 1953, President Dwight Eisenhower delivered his "Atoms for Peace" speech to the U.N. General Assembly recognizing the incredible promise of atomic power.

Watch the full speech: https://t.co/7FdM3jnFUR

[Ira Harkness @iraharkness]

@duncancampbell Why not both?

[Ira Harkness @iraharkness]

@NuclearHazelnut That’s the paradox of nuclear technology: the same discoveries that gave us power reactors, cancer treatments, and medical isotopes also produced weapons of mass destruction.

[Ira Harkness @iraharkness]

@Dr_A_Stein Outreach is key. One approach is to explain the science behind both the environmental benefits and risk concerns so risks are understood in context rather than overshadowing the full picture.

[Ira Harkness @iraharkness]

@BenGChase And on top of that, they’ve got lithium batteries. Shouldn't just toss them them in the trash. Single-use convenience, but long-term electronics waste. No one is going to recycle these.

[Ira Harkness @iraharkness]

@DKThompson Board of Trustees is interviewing him now.

[Ira Harkness @iraharkness]

@whatisnuclear Love it! Looking forward to using these for a future class assignment.

[Ira Harkness @iraharkness]

@x5_PiG @dorothydottydot May his memory be a blessing.

[Ira Harkness @iraharkness]

@whatisnuclear Big engineering challenges as noted by others and comparatively little commercial upside. Too evolutionary for radical disruption, but too revolutionary to piggyback on LWR experience. Tough sell for startups and investors.