University of Nebraska-Lincoln, ASME Chapter, and Mechanical Engineering Department

Samuel Gibson is the Founder & CEO of Hadron Energy based in San Francisco, CA. As a serial entrepreneur, the road was not easy to get to where he is now. As a first generation college student in mechanical engineering & engineering leadership from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in May 2023, he made great strides in his entrepreneurial career to date. Originally from South Dakota, he brings midwestern values of putting others before himself in building Hadron Energy.

Samuel took his studies seriously and focused on mechanical engineering, nuclear engineering, materials science, and engineering leadership. Similarly, he was a part of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity and President of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Nebraska Student Section.

During his time in college, he mentored other engineering students and ultimately grew the organization from 4 to over 200 members. ASME is focused on “Advancing engineering for the benefit of humanity.” What this meant for the chapter was Samuel set up networking events with NASA, Google, Boeing, and many more prominent engineering companies. He raised $7,500 to accelerate the growth of the group and mentored students in applying for engineering scholarships. As a result, countless students received scholarships, internships, and mentoring by being involved with the Nebraska ASME Student Section.

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This landed Samuel two International Engineering Awards from the ASME Headquarters based in New York, NY: The International Standards & Certifications Scholar and The Global Student Leader Award. This propelled Samuel to continually study business acumen during his schooling as well given his keen interest in entrepreneurship. UNL shared an article about one of the awards below:

Undergraduate Gibson earns prestigious ASME scholarship | College of Engineering | University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Sam Gibson, a senior majoring in mechanical engineering, was chosen to receive the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) International Standards & Certification Scholar Award. The ISCS Award provides $10,000 to its recipients, and Gibson said his award will enable him to finish work on his engineering degree, which includes a minor in engineering leadership.

engineering.unl.edu/news/220916/mme/gibson_asme_scholarship

Upon graduating with his degrees, Samuel Gibson took a short break to determine how he could best apply his skill sets in the real world by starting a company. It took dedication and planning but he figured out how to start his first venture with a few partners. Samuel's first venture, an industrial based service company, achieved $4M in revenue in 8 months and grew to 18 employees. It was at this point that Samuel moved on to starting Hadron Energy, a micro modular reactor development company based in San Francisco.

Hadron Energy is a culmination of more than 6 years of his research in materials science, nuclear engineering, and mechanical engineering. It has already surpassed the top 1% of startups in terms of its fundraising profile since being incorporated July 8th, 2024. The nuclear energy industry as a whole is poised to grow 300% due to government & business leaders devising a plan to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Ultra Safe Nuclear Micro Reactor Concept

Hadron Energy’s mission is to be at the forefront of change when it comes to developing innovative micro modular reactors that produce carbon free electricity at an impressive scale. A micro modular reactor is a portable energy device that can fit in the back of a semi truck. Its capabilities are wide given the technology being developed. It can be used for data centers, industrial complexes, remote communities, mining, and much more. One unit can be anywhere from 1 to 20 MW depending on the micro reactor design. Similarly, they can be added together in order to achieve higher levels of load.

Hadron Energy Engagements

Not only has Hadron Energy been able to achieve major design and research milestones in a short amount of time, but they have also had the opportunity to get involved with many impressive organizations. Such engagements include collaborating with the American Nuclear Society, World Nuclear Association, Nuclear Energy Institute, Department of Energy, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and many more.

The Hadron Energy team has grown from 1 to 8 in 2 months. Hadron Energy is currently hiring nuclear engineers to dive deeper into the research & designing process. While the processes are not necessarily new as fission has been proven for nearly a century now, the technology Hadron Energy is developing around it is novel. They are patent pending for a first initial concept and will begin to prototype their design soon. Similarly, they are currently fundraising to build their first prototype to display.

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