Bio
Alex Huning is the Lead for Nuclear Reactor Analysis within the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) Upgrades Project Office at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). He plays a principal role in supporting the HFIR pressure vessel replacement project, a critical effort aimed at ensuring the long-term viability and continued operation of the reactor. HFIR supports a range of essential national security and scientific missions that cannot be fulfilled elsewhere.
Alex brings over 15 years of experience in nuclear reactor safety analysis, probabilistic risk assessment (PRA), and core thermal-hydraulic and systems analysis across both light-water and advanced reactor technologies. Prior to his current role, he served as Group Leader for the Deployment, Licensing, and Operations Group within the Advanced Reactor Engineering Development Section at ORNL.
His previous leadership roles include serving as the Regulatory Lead for the Transformational Challenge Reactor (TCR) under the Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies (AMMT) Program and as the Systems Integration and Analysis Technical Area Lead for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) Microreactor Program.
Before joining ORNL, Alex was the lead PRA analyst at X-energy, where he supported the design and licensing of advanced nuclear systems. He earned his Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a B.S. in Nuclear Engineering from Texas A&M University.