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Division Spotlight
Young Members Group
The Young Members Group works to encourage and enable all young professional members to be actively involved in the efforts and endeavors of the Society at all levels (Professional Divisions, ANS Governance, Local Sections, etc.) as they transition from the role of a student to the role of a professional. It sponsors non-technical workshops and meetings that provide professional development and networking opportunities for young professionals, collaborates with other Divisions and Groups in developing technical and non-technical content for topical and national meetings, encourages its members to participate in the activities of the Groups and Divisions that are closely related to their professional interests as well as in their local sections, introduces young members to the rules and governance structure of the Society, and nominates young professionals for awards and leadership opportunities available to members.
Meeting Spotlight
2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
Standards Program
The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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June 2024
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Latest News
Oklo to collaborate with Atomic Alchemy on isotope production
Fast reactor developer Oklo, which recently went public on the New York Stock Exchange, announced on May 13 that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Atomic Alchemy to cooperate on the production of radioisotopes for medical, energy, industry, and science applications.
Charles W. Forsberg
Nuclear Technology | Volume 205 | Number 3 | March 2019 | Pages 377-396
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2018.1518555
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In a low-carbon world (nuclear, wind, solar, and hydro) there is the need for assured dispatchable electricity to replace the historical role of fossil fuels. Base-load reactors can provide variable electricity to the grid by (1) sending some of their output (steam) to storage at times of low electricity prices and (2) using stored heat to produce added peak electricity at times of high electricity prices. Heat storage (steam accumulators, sensible heat, etc.) is less expensive than electricity storage (batteries, hydro pumped storage, etc.). The added cost of incrementally larger or standalone turbine generators for peak electricity production is small. However, energy storage systems (heat or electricity) can’t provide assured capacity for extreme events, be it supply side (extended low-wind or low-solar conditions in systems with high wind or solar capacity) or demand side (long periods of cold or hot weather). With heat storage systems there is the option to provide peak electricity output when heat storage is depleted by heat addition with a water-tube boiler using natural gas, biofuels, or ultimately hydrogen. Fuel consumption for assured peaking capacity is small because most of the time the heat storage system meets peak electricity demands. The same systems enable reliable low-cost heat production for industry. Such systems enable an all nuclear or nuclear/hydro/wind/solar/geothermal low-carbon electricity grid.