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Good morning. If you’ve attended gatherings like this over a period of 30 years or more, as I have, and listened to speakers discuss nuclear energy, you get used to hearing these speakers describe the significant challenges facing the nuclear industry.

In the early days, the speakers outlined the challenges facing a young industry with future unlimited. Later, the speakers were somewhat grim, responding to issues and criticisms that threatened to limit, if not actually foreclose, that future.

Today, I want to follow that speaking tradition by focusing on the profound challenges now facing the nuclear industry – with one important difference. Today’s challenges are the results of success…the success of a mature and productive nuclear industry that is on the verge not only of realizing the full potential of its first generation of existence, but of laying the foundation for another generation—a generation that will carry the industry from the fiftieth anniversary we will soon be celebrating right through to the nuclear centennial. One of the most significant challenges facing the nuclear industry in this country is how to educate, hire and retain the young people we will need to operate today’s nuclear plants in the near and mid-term future and to help build and run the next generation of plants.

That, of course, is one of the topics of this conference, and I commend the organizers for bringing together so many experts to advance our knowledge and preparedness in this vital area. While I want to discuss workforce issues, I first want to talk about the circumstances in the nuclear industry that require such an infusion of talented young people, and that can provide them with fulfilling careers that will make important contributions to their country.