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I know that in the mid-80s, shortly after TMI and in a period where people were a little more concerned (really!) about energy shortage, the IEEE Spectrum published some ideas about how nuclear energy could be done much more safely than it is. Since the last plant went online, we have advanced in every technology - computing, materials, generation etc. But also since then, nuclear engineering has almost stopped being a discipline, and building plants is politically unfeasible. So it's a weird situation.
What I do know is that alternative energy research has been funded and funded over the years. The truth is, there are ready alternatives to gasoline right now. They cost about twice what oil costs. If oil gets too expensive, the alternatives will start to kick in.
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