Areas of Expertise:

Retired Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Nuclear Reactor Safety R&D and Engineering. Director (post TMI) Industry Degraded Core Rulemaking Program. President’s Commission on the Accident at TMI. Research Professor, U of Tenn, Nuclear Engineering

Recent Comments by Mario Fontana

• "Dear Herschel,You are absolutely correct in that capital costs are a (the) major factor in nuclear plant costs (or any other o"
  Highlights of Major 2010 Energy Innovation Reports
• "As I remember, gasoline has a greater energy density than methanol, but methanol was used in race cars because it had a higher octane "
  Highlights of Major 2010 Energy Innovation Reports
• "Dear Herschel,It appears that to get the best efficiency from a methanol fueled engine the compression ratio needs to be incre"
  Transcript: Economics of America’s Oil Dependence
• "I remember Chrysler (I think it was) working on a gas turbine for autos about 1954 or 1955. You hit on an application that may make sense. A tiny gas "
  Transcript: Economics of America’s Oil Dependence
• "Dear Herschel,I have read the subject article and am not surprised that China wants to protect their sources and potential sources of "
  Discussion Catalyst: Overview–The Need for Policy
• "As I remember, gasoline has a greater energy density than methanol, but methanol was used in race cars because it had a higher octane "
  Discussion Catalyst: Moving Away from Oil–The Transportation Sector
• "Note that reducing the cost of anything by 200% is impossible. 100% is a much as one can go. By then it's free. This needs explanation"
  Discussion Catalyst: Natural Gas and LNG
• "With the use of electric vehicles, how are we going to pay the tax that builds and maintains roads, which currently comes from gasolin"
  Discussion Catalyst: Conservation and Fuel Efficiency
• "Bills HR 2600, HR3337/S 2854, hr 1476/S835 AND HR 4399.These bills appear to be OK as far as they go, but need to be part of a"
  Discussion Catalyst: Important Policies (Oil)