Jessica Lovering

  1. Home
  2. Wiki

Jessica Lovering is an American engineer, researcher and advocate for nuclear power. She has worked at a number of public policy organizations, researching nuclear power and promoting increased adoption of the technology as a means to mitigate climate change.

Education

[edit]

Lovering earned a B.A. in astrophysics from the University of California, Berkeley and M.S. degrees in environmental studies and in astrophysical and planetary sciences from the University of Colorado, Boulder.[1] At Berkeley, she was part of the Deep Ecliptic Survey team which discovered minor planet 54598 Bienor.[2]

In 2020 she completed a Ph.D. in engineering and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University.[1] Her thesis, Evaluating changing paradigms across the nuclear industry, investigated the shift towards smaller, commodity, nuclear reactors from non-American exporters, and the related implications for global security.[3]

Public policy and advocacy

[edit]

Lovering was hired by the Breakthrough Institute in 2012 start up their nuclear program[4]: 223  and work on nuclear energy policy and later became the director of its energy program.[5][6] Her 2016 paper, "Historical construction costs of global nuclear power reactors", argued that construction costs of nuclear power plants had escalated more moderately than previously reported,[7] and provoked rebuttals from Jonathan Koomey and Benjamin K. Sovacool, among others.[8] She noted the 94 nuclear reactors in the United States were based on fifty different designs while those in France and South Korea had only a few types likely leading to lower costs there.[5]

In 2020 she co-founded the Good Energy Collective in an effort to align nuclear advocacy with progressive and environmentalist ideals.[4]: 223 [9] Presenting her advocacy of nuclear power as an environmental justice issue,[10] she also engages with people about its downsides including weapons history and nuclear waste, which can impact public health.[4]: 224–225  She advocated for nuclear power at a debate with Mark Jacobson at an event presented by The Steamboat Institute at Colorado Mesa University.[11]

In 2025, she became a senior fellow at the Nuclear Innovation Alliance, an American think tank.[1] Her written work has featured in various publications, including journals Issues in Science and Technology, Science and Public Policy, Foreign Affairs and Energy Policy.[12]

Selected publications

[edit]
  • Lovering, Jessica; Nordhaus, Ted; Shellenberger, Michael (September 7, 2012). "Out of the Nuclear Closet: Why it's time for environmentalists to stop worrying and love the atom". Foreign Policy.[4]: 91 
  • Lovering, Jessica R.; Yip, Arthur; Nordhaus, Ted (2016). "Historical construction costs of global nuclear power reactors". Energy Policy. 91: 371–382. doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2016.01.011.[7]
  • Lovering, Jessica; Swain, Marian; Blomqvist, Linus; Hernandez, Rebecca R. (2022). "Land-use intensity of electricity production and tomorrow's energy landscape". PLOS One. 17 (7) e0270155. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0270155. PMC 9258890.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "Statement on the Addition of A New Senior Fellow to the Nuclear Innovation Alliance Team". Nuclear Innovation Alliance (NIA) (Press release). 14 April 2025. Retrieved 17 September 2025.
  2. ^ "Deep Ecliptic Survey: The Team". Lowell Observatory. Archived from the original on 2006-02-07.
  3. ^ Lovering, Jessica (17 December 2020). Evaluating Changing Paradigms Across the Nuclear Industry (Thesis). Carnegie Mellon University.
  4. ^ a b c d Tuhus-Dubrow, Rebecca (8 April 2025). Atomic Dreams: The New Nuclear Evangelists and the Fight for the Future of Energy. Little, Brown. ISBN 978-1-64375-758-2.
  5. ^ a b Karma, Rogé (26 May 2024). "Nuclear Energy's Bottom Line". The Atlantic. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
  6. ^ "Jessica Lovering | Energy for Growth Fellow". Breakthrough Institute. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
  7. ^ a b Plumer, Brad (February 29, 2016). "Why America abandoned nuclear power (and what we can learn from South Korea)". Vox. Archived from the original on March 1, 2016.
  8. ^ Reimers, Andrew (2016-07-12). "A Conversation with Jessica Lovering". Nuclear Newswire. Retrieved 2017-05-28.
  9. ^ Roberts, David (21 July 2020). "A women-led, progressive group takes a new approach to nuclear power". Vox.
  10. ^ Roth, Sammy (May 24, 2021). "California's next climate challenge: Not going nuclear". The Los Angeles Times. p. A9 – via newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Webb, Dennis (April 12, 2024). "Nuclear option?". The Daily Sentinel. pp. 1A, 8A – via newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Jessica Lovering - Google Scholar Citations". scholar.google.com. Retrieved 2017-05-28.
[edit]