Nuclear Physicist + Inventor + Comedian + Father³ Founder and CEO of The Earthineering Company
Claremont, CA
Joined March 2011
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Dr. Kevin Peter Hickerson retweeted
U.S. Navy Is Going Unmanned
Hard Tech Headlines:
- @Lunasonde, developing deep-underground sensing technology, has partnered with nuclear startup @earthineering to explore lunar resources. The MOU focuses on identifying and extracting potential resources beneath the Moon’s surface, including water ice and rare minerals.
- The U.S. Navy is procuring 30 medium unmanned surface vessels, with 10 each from @Saronic, @WeAreHII, and Galliano Marine Services.
- @KodiakRobotics has announced Ikea, the major retailer has become the first driverless launch partner, starting autonomous trucking on I-45 in Texas.
- @matternet has unveiled M3, a new autonomous drone delivery platform built for food, retail, healthcare, and industrial logistics. The drone can carry up to 11 pounds within a 10-mile service radius.
- KBR, Inc. has secured a deal with SABIC Agri-Nutrients in Saudi Arabia to supply ammonia production technology for a new large-scale fertilizer complex.
- @DynaRobotics has launched Dyna-2.1, a semi-humanoid robot designed to execute full workflows rather than one-off tasks, such as completing an entire commercial laundry shift.
- Metallus Inc. has secured a deal with the Defense Logistics Agency to supply specialty steel for critical defense applications. The initial delivery order is valued at approximately $125 million.
- The National Nuclear Security Administration has developed a counter-drone program to protect critical U.S. nuclear facilities from unauthorized drones.
- Westinghouse Electric Company, one of America’s largest nuclear companies, has signed an MOU with the University of South Carolina focused on nuclear workforce development, including the potential integration of an AP1000 reactor control room simulator.
- @anduriltech has secured a strategic partnership with Voyager Technologies, which will supply propulsion systems and components for Anduril’s missile and missile-defense programs.
- Stridar, the American unmanned ground vehicle startup, has launched Siderunner Pro, a new modular UGV built for contested logistics and autonomous resupply missions.
ALT Source: Stridar
Dr. Kevin Peter Hickerson retweeted
Taiwan is returning to nuclear!
Hard to overstate how big this is. Taiwan was the Germany of the Pacific, just more blockadable.
Saving its nuclear was a major campaign for the old Environmental Progress crew starting back in 2017, working with brave local leaders
Germany next
☢️ HUGE NUCLEAR POWER REVERSAL ☢️
Taiwan approved a preliminary plan to restart an idled atomic power plant, marking a reversal of the ruling party’s anti-nuclear stance. It closed its last reactor last year
The earliest the plant may resume is 2028
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Dr. Kevin Peter Hickerson retweeted
None of the reactors that went critical by July 4th received any government funding. Most people assume that because we were up there in the Oval Office it meant we’d all received some large grants. The truth is that we received zero.
Dr. Kevin Peter Hickerson retweeted
Just got to meet President Trump, pretty surreal experience.
I immigrated two and a half years ago and at that point we were a two-person company with an idea.
Today we've turned on a reactor and got invited to the White House.
Wild. This country is incredible. The future for nuclear and America is bright 🇺🇸
If you want something to do in El Segundo and plan on going to space, I recommend hanging with the founder of Space Happy Hour, Craig Baerwaldt.
Dr. Kevin Peter Hickerson retweeted
BREAKING: The bipartisan act to legalize supersonic flight just passed Senate Commerce Committee *unanimously*. It was previously passed by the House, also *unanimously*.
Supersonic flight isn't red or blue—it's red, white, and blue! 🇺🇸
Dr. Kevin Peter Hickerson retweeted
What better celebration of America's 250th than lifting the ban on supersonic travel! This is no longer just the thrill our Air Force gets to experience - all of us will.
But all that speed means we need more fuel - a lot of fuel. Where will we get it?
We will make it - using nuclear energy.
The future will be powered by nuclear: faster, farther and better than ever. We are thrilled to be a part of it -at supersonics speeds, in space, and beyond.
THE FUTURE OF FLIGHT IS TAKING OFF. ✈️
@SecDuffy just announced HUGE news in bringing supersonic flights to America's skies. The Golden Age of travel is here!
Dr. Kevin Peter Hickerson retweeted
We are delighted for our friends at @AaloAtomics as their reactor reached zero power criticality on America's 250th Fourth of July. Aalo is leading the way for the nuclear renaissance and all of the incredible industry innovations that are soon to come!
earthineering.company/blog/a…
We’ve gone critical.
At 12:20 am on July 4th, Aalo sustained a controlled fission chain reaction for the first time. We have officially surpassed the goal of President Trump’s Executive Order 14301, achieving 4 advanced nuclear reactor criticalities by America’s 250th birthday.
This is a zero-power criticality to validate our supply chain, reactor physics and control systems for our 10 MWe full-powered reactor, the Aalo-X, targeting power operations next year.
Everything was built at full scale: fuel, moderator, control systems, etc., so we understand system performance at its commercial scope.
That also meant tackling four of the most difficult things in nuclear with this criticality milestone:
✅ Ground-up construction of our reactor facility
✅ Manufacturing the reactor in our factory and shipping them by road
✅ Assembling our own fuel assemblies using commercial UO2
✅ Standing up training, safety, and operational programs to become our own nuclear operator
I am proud to say we have accomplished all four goals, along with achieving criticality.
The reactor building was constructed in 36 days and construction to criticality was achieved in under 8 months. That’s the fastest nuclear build in the last 80 years.
A massive congratulations to the Aalo Atomics team and our partners. Many thanks to Idaho National Laboratory, the DOE-Idaho Operations Office, and the Office of Nuclear Energy for their immense support in enabling this milestone and dedicated to the American nuclear resurgence.
Mark B. Wise, Caltech's John A. McCone Professor of High Energy Physics, my professor for many great classes, and a member of my Thesis Committee, passed away on July 10, 2026.
I first met him as my teacher as an undergraduate. Mark was my favorite professor.
Why? Because he was funny.
That was no small feat. Let me tell you, making quantum field theory hilarious is a huge challenge, but he could do it. Each lecture was a joy.
Mark would toss students a coin (usually a novelty coin of some sort— from another country or a commemorative state quarter) if they could answer a question. It was a way of testing to see who was following along but also keeping it fun and not making it feel like the Inquisition.
I still have the first coin he tossed me. I saved it because I was proud. I was an undergraduate in a graduate class, and I remember he had this hilarious surprised look on his face when I answered first, as if he was thinking “woah… wasn’t expecting that from _you!_” I wasn't going to lose that coin and that proud feeling that went with it.
In graduate school, he joined my thesis committee. I was honored when he agreed, as he was a top-shelf particle theorist, particularly when it comes to heavy particle physics. My thesis had a lot of (very) heavy particle theory in it, even though I was "just an experimentalist," so I was happy to get his support.
He had a huge impact on me, taught me how to communicate hard topics, how to mix comedy and hard science, and helped me get my PhD. He was a great man. He will be deeply missed.
caltech.edu/about/news/calte…
Dr. Kevin Peter Hickerson retweeted
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!
Dr. Kevin Peter Hickerson retweeted
We're entering a new era of lunar exploration.
With high-definition cameras on our landers, rovers, and Moonfall drones, people around the world will be able to watch as we explore the lunar surface, search for water ice, and prepare for a permanent human presence on the Moon.
Dr. Kevin Peter Hickerson retweeted
We will look back in history and remember this pivot—not just in American nuclear energy—but in American energy.
God bless President Trump for unleashing the American Nuclear Renaissance and God bless the people and companies that are making it happen.
Dr. Kevin Peter Hickerson retweeted
We tax cigarettes to reduce smoking.
We tax alcohol to reduce drinking.
We tax fuel to reduce driving.
What do you think happens when you tax employing people and running a business?
Dr. Kevin Peter Hickerson retweeted
People think nuclear energy is slow because the science is too hard.
But its no more difficult than all the other hard science - robotics, medicine, aerospace.
We’ve known how to split an atom for eighty years. We've got 20,000+ reactor-years of operational experience.
What we don't have is the muscle of building reactors (which we lost).
And the muscle of true mass production (which we never built in the first place).
Team is assembling fuel right now. Good reps!!
Dr. Kevin Peter Hickerson retweeted
THE FUTURE OF FLIGHT IS TAKING OFF. ✈️
@SecDuffy just announced HUGE news in bringing supersonic flights to America's skies. The Golden Age of travel is here!