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ABOUT

OVERVIEW

PowerN is focused on developing and implementing a cutting-edge digital platform to transform high precision modular construction and manufacturing of nuclear reactors and associated equipment. Deployment of nuclear reactors in recent decades has suffered from significant cost escalations and schedule delays. Fusion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Augmented Reality (AR) offers transformational opportunities to address these challenges when combined effectively with fundamental knowledge, new data types, and operational experience assimilated over multiple decades. PowerN has created cutting-edge solutions through an integration of these multi modal aspects to provide a holistic oversight, visualization, and analytics platform to de-risk the delivery of large construction and manufacturing projects.

PowerN also provides valuable consulting and experimental testing services across a wider ranging domain of applications including nuclear power plant safety, construction of energy facilities, seismic safety of electrical systems, and ageing of concrete infrastructure. We have used modern digital tools including deep learning and LLMs in developing new solutions. Among a few different products offered by PowerN, we have made significant advances in the development, commercialization, and customer engagement for its flagship product CPMS (Construction Performance Modeling and Simulation). PowerN’s strategic collaborations with a multiple leading nuclear utility, reactor vendors, and construction companies in the United States have facilitated the development of its digital solutions.

LEADERSHIP

Abhinav Gupta has helped nuclear utilities in the US, Europe, and Asia with substantial cost savings through innovative solutions in projects such as steam generator replacements. He has served as the Director of industry sponsored Center for Nuclear Energy Facilities and Structures at NC State University. He has also served as the President of International Association of SMiRT and presently serves on the association’s Board. He has earned best paper awards at major international conferences of American Society of Mechanical Engineers and American Nuclear Society. He chaired the national committee on emerging computing technologies at American Society of Civil Engineers. In the non-nuclear arena, he helped in design and construction of electrical substations that supply power to major airports and theme parks. He continues to work in the area of developing digital twins for energy facilities and industrial infrastructure systems including piping and equipment.

Kevin Han has worked in construction automation and robotics for more than 10 years and has been recognized through various awards, such 2024 ASCE Daniel Halpin Award for Scholarship in Construction. He holds three patents. He was a founding member of a startup Reconstruct where he helped developing its core technology even before the company was found. He is a co-chair of the 28th Structural Mechanics in Reactor Technology and is a member of the Engineering and Construction Task Force which consists of experts from the industry and was formed and led by EPRI to address construction challenges for next generation nuclear reactors. He received PhD in Civil Engineering and Master of Computer Science at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and MS in Civil Engineering and BA in Architecture with Minor in Structural Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.

Shekhar Yerramilli, an Engineer and Business Grad by education, started his career as a consultant in the Financial Services industry. He then shifted his focus to the Pharmaceutical Industry, and specialized in Revenue Cycle management, including market access, pricing, and contracting. In 2010, he co-founded his first company daVIZta that built cloud-based Revenue Analytics software for the Life Sciences industry. He led and grew the company to a 100 people team and won many awards along the way, including the INC 5000 award, NJ Fast 50 award, NJ Best Employer award, and was a finalist of EY Entrepreneur of the Year award for NJ. As a co-founder and COO of PowerN, Shekhar brings in seasoned business experience of growing a company in an entrepreneurial set-up. Shekhar also serves on the board of multiple for-profit and non-profit companies focusing on creating large scale social impact for children, elderly, and underserved rural populations.

Ritu Bhatnagar is a strategic product and customer success leader with a strong track record of driving long-term vision, product innovation, and operational efficiency through process optimization. She brings her knowledge and experiences from the tech sector in data analytics, healthcare, real estate, and telecom. Prior to joining PowerN, she managed complex portfolios and Customer Success delivery at SAS, leading implementations and migrations across private cloud, on-premises, Azure-hosted, and other cloud platforms. She has led product development teams in delivering high-impact, customer-centric solutions while maintaining strong standards for privacy, security, and regulatory compliance. With a background in building and scaling enterprise grade products, she brings a data-driven and outcome-oriented approach to the full product lifecycle. She is passionate about fostering a culture of innovation, accountability, and collaboration, while mentoring teams to achieve excellence.

ADVISORS

M. Christopher Nolan, PE, is a Senior Advisor to PowerN leveraging the experiences and insights gained from his 40-year career in the nuclear industry. Chris left Duke Energy in April 2026 to form a consulting business. Chris Nolan served as Duke Energy’s Vice President New Nuclear Generation Strategy and Regulatory Engagement since 2022.

In this role, Chris was responsible for planning the deployment of advanced nuclear reactors to support the company’s generation growth strategy. This included the development of an early site permit for multiple advanced reactors adjacent to the Belews Creek Steam Station in North Carolina in parallel with updates to the combined license for two AP1000’s in Gaffney, South Carolina. He joined Duke Energy in 2006 as a licensing manager and later served as vice president of regulatory affairs.

Chris started his career at the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory in the naval nuclear propulsion plant program for General Electric Company where he was qualified on multiple submarine prototypes. He also worked as a senior design engineer at Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant for nine years prior to working at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for nine years. At the NRC, he served in multiple roles including chief of the New Reactors Environmental Projects Branch in the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

Jenifer Shafer is the inaugural Fryrear Presidential Chair in Energy at the Colorado School of Mines, where she leads a research group focused on actinide radiochemistry, the nuclear fuel cycle, nuclear forensics, and heavy-element science. She has authored approximately 90 peer-reviewed publications and contributed foundational advances in actinide chemistry. She is a Fellow of the American Chemical Society and a DOE Early Career Awardee.

From 2020 to 2026, Dr. Shafer served at ARPA-E as a Program Director and then Associate Director of Technology, providing agency-wide leadership over research program development. She led technical program development for more than $550M in funding across the energy sector, spanning critical minerals, grid technologies, batteries, carbon capture, and catalysis, and directed nuclear energy programs herself. She initiated and led ARPA-E's $48M CURIE program, a landmark effort advancing nuclear fuel recycling and waste management.

Today, Dr. Shafer advises energy startups, working at the intersection of advanced nuclear technology, sponsored research, and technology transfer.