I'm probably not the right person to answer that question, because TRIUMF is primarily a laboratory in areas of fundamental nuclear physics. On the other hand, we do a fair amount of material science, which is useful for testing the materials, for example, that would go into nuclear reactors.
One thing we are very focused on, though, is increasing the public awareness and acceptance of nuclear technologies broadly writ, so we are increasingly investing in our communications efforts. We train 150 students a year who come through TRIUMF, and they are also being exposed to the nuclear technologies, the nuclear industry. I think our job at TRIUMF is to really break down some of the misconceptions about the role of nuclear physics.
Now, speaking more as a layman and as an educated scientist, I would argue that the future should be a mix of technologies. Nuclear is a very important piece of that mix, especially once the waste issues are resolved. There is another nuclear technology that's up and coming, called “accelerator-driven fission”, for producing nuclear power. I believe China is investing heavily in that area. That's where you use particle accelerators to drive the reactor critical. It is not ready for deployment; it's an area of future research, and it's an area where we would be positioned to contribute if the country wished to investigate that way further.