Jessica Lovering is an American engineer, researcher andadvocate 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 mitigateclimate change.
Lovering earned a B.A. inastrophysics from theUniversity of California, Berkeley and M.S. degrees inenvironmental studies and in astrophysical and planetary sciences from theUniversity of Colorado, Boulder.[1] At Berkeley, she was part of theDeep Ecliptic Survey team which discovered minor planet54598 Bienor.[2]
In 2020 she completed a Ph.D. in engineering and public policy atCarnegie 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]
Lovering was hired by theBreakthrough 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 fromJonathan Koomey andBenjamin 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 theGood Energy Collective in an effort to align nuclear advocacy with progressive and environmentalist ideals.[4]: 223 [9] Presenting her advocacy of nuclear power as anenvironmental justice issue,[10] she also engages with people about its downsides includingweapons history andnuclear waste, which can impact public health.[4]: 224–225 She advocated for nuclear power at a debate withMark Jacobson at an event presented byThe Steamboat Institute atColorado Mesa University.[11]
In 2025, she became a senior fellow at the Nuclear Innovation Alliance, an Americanthink tank.[1] Her written work has featured in various publications, including journalsIssues in Science and Technology,Science and Public Policy,Foreign Affairs andEnergy Policy.[12]
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