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The Smiling Atom: How We Learned to Love Nuclear Energy, and Why You Should, Too
Not yet published
Expected 16 Mar 27The case for nuclear energy as the foundation of the AI revolution – and our future
In The Smiling How We Learned to Love Nuclear Energy, and Why You Should, Too, physicist-entrepreneur Stefano Buono and journalist Peter Vanham argue that the AI-driven “fourth industrial revolution” depends on a nuclear energy renaissance. Combining science, history, business strategy, and personal narrative, their dual perspective reframes nuclear technology as a future-facing solution for clean energy, medical innovation, and broad-based prosperity.
The Smiling Atom weaves two distinct Buono's scientific journey from a decade of research at CERN with Nobel laureate Carlo Rubbia to founding pharmaceutical startup Advanced Accelerator Applications, sold to Novartis for $3.9 billion, and now leading next-generation reactor company newcleo; alongside Vanham's evolution from a nuclear-skeptic to informed believer. Together they deliver technical authority and narrative credibility.
Readers will also
How nuclear energy can be a solution to the massive and growing power demands of artificial intelligence infrastructure – without driving up prices for everyone else The science of nuclear waste transmutation and next-generation reactor designs that address longstanding safety and environmental concerns Buono's path from CERN physicist to founding a pharmaceutical startup sold to Novartis for $3.9 billion How well-known anti-nuclear movements in Europe and North America shaped public opinion and why that consensus is now shifting across society – and especially Gen Z The role nuclear medicine plays in healthcare innovation and why energy and medical applications share common scientific foundations Written for business, finance, policy, climate, and technology audiences in Europe and the United States, The Smiling Atom offers a persuasive, evidence-based argument for readers seeking to understand why nuclear energy has reemerged as central to economic growth, clean power, and technological progress.
In The Smiling How We Learned to Love Nuclear Energy, and Why You Should, Too, physicist-entrepreneur Stefano Buono and journalist Peter Vanham argue that the AI-driven “fourth industrial revolution” depends on a nuclear energy renaissance. Combining science, history, business strategy, and personal narrative, their dual perspective reframes nuclear technology as a future-facing solution for clean energy, medical innovation, and broad-based prosperity.
The Smiling Atom weaves two distinct Buono's scientific journey from a decade of research at CERN with Nobel laureate Carlo Rubbia to founding pharmaceutical startup Advanced Accelerator Applications, sold to Novartis for $3.9 billion, and now leading next-generation reactor company newcleo; alongside Vanham's evolution from a nuclear-skeptic to informed believer. Together they deliver technical authority and narrative credibility.
Readers will also
How nuclear energy can be a solution to the massive and growing power demands of artificial intelligence infrastructure – without driving up prices for everyone else The science of nuclear waste transmutation and next-generation reactor designs that address longstanding safety and environmental concerns Buono's path from CERN physicist to founding a pharmaceutical startup sold to Novartis for $3.9 billion How well-known anti-nuclear movements in Europe and North America shaped public opinion and why that consensus is now shifting across society – and especially Gen Z The role nuclear medicine plays in healthcare innovation and why energy and medical applications share common scientific foundations Written for business, finance, policy, climate, and technology audiences in Europe and the United States, The Smiling Atom offers a persuasive, evidence-based argument for readers seeking to understand why nuclear energy has reemerged as central to economic growth, clean power, and technological progress.
Hardcover
Expected publication March 16, 2027
About the author
Peter Vanham
8 books29 followersPeter Vanham writes about the global economy and those who shape it.
He is the (co-) author of "The New Nature of Business (Wiley, 2024, with André Hoffmann), "Stakeholder Capitalism" (Wiley, 2021, with Prof. Klaus Schwab), "Before I Was CEO" (Wiley, 2017), and "Een kleine geschiedenis van grote durvers" (Lannoo, 2020).
He worked as a journalist in New York, London, Zurich, and Berlin, and contributed stories on emerging markets and business leadership to Fortune, The Financial Times, Business Insider, Harvard Business Review, and others.
He holds (executive) master’s degrees in Management Research (ESCP Paris), Global Leadership (World Economic Forum), Business & Economics Journalism (Columbia University) and Commercial Engineering (KU Leuven).
He lives in Geneva with his wife Valeria and their two daghters.
He is the (co-) author of "The New Nature of Business (Wiley, 2024, with André Hoffmann), "Stakeholder Capitalism" (Wiley, 2021, with Prof. Klaus Schwab), "Before I Was CEO" (Wiley, 2017), and "Een kleine geschiedenis van grote durvers" (Lannoo, 2020).
He worked as a journalist in New York, London, Zurich, and Berlin, and contributed stories on emerging markets and business leadership to Fortune, The Financial Times, Business Insider, Harvard Business Review, and others.
He holds (executive) master’s degrees in Management Research (ESCP Paris), Global Leadership (World Economic Forum), Business & Economics Journalism (Columbia University) and Commercial Engineering (KU Leuven).
He lives in Geneva with his wife Valeria and their two daghters.
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