China's recent push into nuclear energy has attracted little public attention, despite its massive implications for Chinese and global energy, environmental and security outcomes. China's nuclear initiatives could mitigate the environmental impact of the voracious appetite for energy in China and other emerging economies. But in the post-Fukushima environment, the torrid pace of Chinese nuclear expansion raises important questions about quality, safety and nuclear security. At the same time, many industry incumbents are struggling - witness the re-organization of Areva (merged with EDF) and the ongoing bankruptcy proceedings of Westinghouse.

In this context, how can we benchmark China's progress toward global leadership in this technically challenging and strategically important industry? Are China's nuclear enterprises making progress in assimilating and creating world-class technologies and organizational capabilities? Can China's regulatory system meet the technical and managerial challenges of a rapidly expanding and increasingly complex nuclear establishment?

This two-day conference, to be held on March 16-17, 2018, will assemble a multidisciplinary group of scholars and practitioners to address these questions and take stock of the global dynamics of this industry ten years after China selected Westinghouse's AP1000 design as its central nuclear technology platform.

The Western Pennsylvania region and the University of Pittsburgh provide a natural setting for an international conference that will appraise the current scale, future prospects and global impact of China's growing nuclear program. Western Pennsylvania is the home of the first commercial nuclear power facility; it also houses the world headquarters of Westinghouse Electric, whose Generation III reactor design forms the centerpiece of China's current wave of nuclear plant construction. Within the University of Pittsburgh, the global nuclear industry is the subject of multi-pronged research initiatives that span the business, economics, engineering and public administration faculties.