Publications
For physicist Didier Sornette, Professor of Entrepreneurial Risks at ETH since 2006, nuclear energy belongs in the Swiss electricity mix, along with hydropower and solar.
The Swiss federal government’s energy strategy is wishful thinking, says ETH researcher, NZZ, 19.7.22
Risk researcher Didier Sornette, a physicist who is chair of Entrepreneurial Risks at ETH, criticizes the fact that the transition from today’s energy system to one that relies to a large extent on solar power is being presented too optimistically by the authorities. This creates a dangerous illusion of security and control, according to a new working paper by Sornette and fellow researcher Euan Mearns.
external page https://www.nzz.ch/english/swiss-federal-governments-energy-strategy-flawed-ld.1694169
PhD thesis:
- Ali Ayoub, Download For a safer nuclear outlook: learning from experience within an adaptive and generic probabilistic safety assessment framework (PDF, 4.8 MB), (1 Dec 2021)
Nuclear Events Database:
- Ali Ayoub, Andrej Stankovski, Wolfgang Kröger, and Didier Sornette,
The ETH Zurich Curated Nuclear Events Database: Layout, Event Classification, and Analysis of Contributing Factors,
Reliability Engineering and System Safety 213, 107781 (2021)
- Ali Ayoub, Andrej Stankovski, Wolfgang Kröger, and Didier Sornette,
Precursors and startling lessons: Statistical analysis of 1250 events with safety significance from the civil nuclear sector
Reliability Engineering and System Safety 214, 107820 (2021)
- Ali Ayoub, Spencer Wheatley, Wolfgang Kröger and Didier Sornette, “ETHZ Curated Nuclear Events Database”, http://er-nucleardb.ethz.ch [2019].
- Ali Ayoub, Andrej Stankovski, Wolfgang Kröger and Didier Sornette, “Status of the ETHZ Curated Nuclear Events Database”, ESREL2020-PSAM15, 2020.
- Andrej Stankovski, “Download Enhancement of the ETHZ Nuclear Events Database and Preliminary Trend Analysis (PDF, 3.8 MB)”, Master thesis (February 2020)
- Spencer Wheatley, Wolfgang Kröger, Lan Chen and Didier Sornette “Open comprehensive nuclear event database”, Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management PSAM 14, September 2018, Los Angeles, CA (external page http://psam14.org/proceedings/paper/paper_401_1.pdf)
Generic PSA Models Development
- Ali Ayoub, Wolfgang Kröger and Didier Sornette. "Generic Probabilistic Safety Assessment Models for International Precursor Analysis Applications", International Youth Nuclear Congress (IYNC2020), Sydney, Australia, March 2020.
- Ali Ayoub, Wolfgang Kröger, Olivier Nusbaumer and Didier Sornette, “SIMPLIFIED/HARMONIZED PSA: A GENERIC MODELING FRAMEWORK”, ANS PSA 2019 International Topical Meeting on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis, Charleston, SC, USA (external page https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ali_Ayoub4/publication/338793682_SIMPLIFIEDHARMONIZED_PSA_A_GENERIC_MODELING_FRAMEWORK/links/5e2addce4585150ee77e85eb/SIMPLIFIED-HARMONIZED-PSA-A-GENERIC-MODELING-FRAMEWORK.pdf)
- Xi Chen, Download Generic Level 2 Probabilistic Safety Analysis on Pressurized Water Reactors (PDF, 1.6 MB) (PDF, 1.6 MB), Master thesis (August 2019)
Precursor Analysis
- Spencer Wheatley, Wolfgang Kröger, Olivier Nusbaumer and Didier Sornette “Analysis of precursor accidents in nuclear power”, Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management PSAM 14, September 2018, Los Angeles, CA (external page http://psam14.org/proceedings/paper/paper_402_1.pdf)
Diverse Nuclear Topics
- Wolfgang Kröoger, Didier Sornette and Ali Ayoub, Towards Safer and more sustainable ways for exploiting nuclear power, World Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology 10, 91-115 (2020) (external page https://www.scirp.org/journal/wjnst, ISSN Online: 2161-6809)
- Spencer Wheatley, Benjamin Sovacool and Didier Sornette, Of Disasters and Dragon Kings: A Statistical Analysis of Nuclear Power Incidents & Accidents, Risk Analysis 37 (1), 99-115 (2017) (DOI: 10.1111/risa.12587, pp. 1-17 (2016)) (external page http://arxiv.org/abs/1504.02380). Download A criticism of the work by Dr. Patrick Walden is available here (PDF, 1009 KB). Download The response to this criticism by the authors is available here (PDF, 155 KB)
- Spencer Wheatley and Didier Sornette, Download Une perspective indépendante sur les coûts d’une société avec ou sans nucléaire (PDF, 710 KB), Le Temps, November 14, 2016
- Tom Whipple, Download Nuclear watchdogs downplaying the risks (PDF, 69 KB), The Times, September 19, 2016 Press Release: Risk of Another Chernobyl or Fukushima Type Accident Plausible, Experts say, University of Sussex and ETH Zurich, September 19, 2016
- Spencer Wheatley, Benjamin K. Sovacool and Didier Sornette, Download Reassessing the Safety of Nuclear Power (PDF, 546 KB), Energy Research & Social Science 15, 96-100 (2016)
- Spencer Wheatley, Benjamin Sovacool and Didier Sornette, Statistically assessing of the risks of commercial nuclear energy, SGR Newsletter 44, 10-11 (2016) (SGR: Scientists for Global Responsibility)
- Didier Sornette, A civil super-Apollo project in nuclear R&D for a safer and prosperous world, Energy Research & Social Science 8, 60-65 (2015) (external page http://arxiv.org/abs/1504.06985 and external page http://ssrn.com/abstract=2601034)
- Wolfgang Kroeger and Didier Sornette, Reflections on Limitations of Current PSA Methodology, ANS PSA 2013 International Topical Meeting on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis, Columbia, South Carolina, USA, September 22-26, 2013, on CD-ROM, American Nuclear Society, LaGrange Park, IL (2013), invited article for the Probabilistic Safety Analysis 2013 (PSA2013) (accepted 5 July 2013) (external page www.psa2013.org)
- Didier Sornette, Thomas Maillart and Wolfgang Kroeger, Exploring the limits of safety analysis in complex technological systems, International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 6, 59-66 (2013)
(external page http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212420913000253) and (external page http://arxiv.org/abs/1207.5674)