Firefly Reading Circle

Our inaugural session takes place on 20 June 2026 in Bengaluru, India. Venue details will be shared with members as the date approaches. We open with Nuclear Engineering Fundamentals and run our first simulation together.

A monthly technical reading circle for engineers, researchers, students, and builders interested in advanced nuclear energy, reactor design, systems engineering, and deep-tech innovation. We read closely, discuss rigorously, and put theory into practice through hands-on workshops.

Evolve from a reading group into a study group and, ultimately, an open-source simulation community focused on advanced nuclear systems. Each cohort builds shared knowledge and reusable tools that move the wider Firefly mission forward.

Each session runs for two hours and is structured in three parts:

1. Technical Overview — 30 minA focused walkthrough of the month's reading and core concepts.
2. Guided Discussion — 60 minStructured discussion of the material, open questions, and implications.
3. Hands-on Workshop — 30 minPractical exercises that apply the concepts using real tooling.

Each session produces shared notes, technical summaries, simulation exercises, and research questions for the community.

The founding series runs across four months, building from fundamentals to a complete molten salt system architecture:

1. Month 1 — Nuclear Engineering FundamentalsReading: Lamarsh + OpenMC tutorials. Workshop: Install Python, Jupyter, OpenMC and run your first simulation.
2. Month 2 — Reactor ArchitecturesReading: Stacey + Generation IV Roadmap. Workshop: Reactor comparison matrix and technology landscape report.
3. Month 3 — Fast Reactors & Fuel BreedingReading: Fast Breeder Reactors + ORNL MSR reports. Workshop: Compare thermal vs fast reactor simulations in OpenMC.
4. Month 4 — Molten Salt Systems EngineeringReading: Molten Salt Reactors and Thorium Energy + ORNL MSRE documentation. Workshop: Develop a complete MSR system architecture.

Across the series we work with an open, industry-relevant toolchain:

• T.01OpenMC
• T.02OpenFOAM
• T.03Python
• T.04Jupyter
• T.05FreeCAD
• T.06GitHub
• T.07Systems Modeling

The circle is open to anyone curious about advanced nuclear systems, including:

• W.01Mechanical Engineers
• W.02Chemical Engineers
• W.03Materials Engineers
• W.04Electrical Engineers
• W.05Software Engineers
• W.06Physicists
• W.07Researchers
• W.08Students
• W.09Deep-Tech Builders

Indicate Interest Back to Project Firefly