Gregory B. Jaczko, the chair of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, is set to speak at Stanford on May 18 about the environmental and public safety risks associated with the country’s 104 nuclear power plants.

Jaczko is the head of the U.S. agency responsible for regulating nuclear material safety, issuing orders to those licensed to operate nuclear plants and overseeing the agency’s response to emergencies at licensed plants. His talk next week is part of Stanford’s spring energy seminar series.

The United States has seen little new construction of nuclear reactors since the 1970s until recently; now, 18 applications are before the commission for proposed projects in the midwest, south and northeast. President Obama, in his State of the Union address, called for more nuclear power plants and put $57.5 billion into his budget plan for construction loans.

Jaczko, who holds a Ph.D. in physics, will discuss the challenges of simultaneously overseeing current reactors, approving designs and license applications, regulating safety, expanding the nuclear energy industry and storing spent fuel, according to organizers.

The Woods Institute, the Precourt Institute for Energy and the Global Climate and Energy Project are co-sponsoring the talk. It is scheduled for May 18 at 4:15 p.m. in Bldg. 420.

–Elizabeth Titus