ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
Latest Magazine Issues
Jul 2026
Jan 2026
2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
September 2026
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
August 2026
Latest News
NN Asks: What have recent projects taught us about the move from analog to digital plant controls?
Thomas Burnelis
Transitioning in nuclear from the U.S. Navy to the commercial industry was always a goal for me, but stepping directly into a fully digital control room was a paradigm shift. Moving from the tactile, analog world of my military background to the data-rich environment of modern advanced reactors was jarring. Digital systems offer an unprecedented wealth of information, but unlocking that potential requires a fundamental shift in how we approach testing, commissioning, and startup.
Commissioning analog plants meant physical verification, such as lifting leads, injecting signals, and manually tweaking potentiometers to calibrate gains and offsets. Digital instrumentation and control (I&C) completely redefines this landscape. Today, nearly all plant data are available at our fingertips, but this brings the challenge of filtering an immense amount of data and system alarms. Troubleshooting has largely migrated from the field and into software, following digital signals from operator inputs to field devices.
Steven Arndt is an internationally recognized expert in the field of nuclear engineering with experience in nuclear power plant simulation, severe accident analysis and nuclear power plant instrumentation and control. In his 40 years in the nuclear industry Dr. Arndt has worked as a researcher, educator, consultant, and regulator including extensive experience in Russia and Ukraine leading the United States support programs to the states of the former Soviet Union following the Chernobyl accident and as part of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC’s) response to the Fukushima accident.
Dr. Arndt currently serves as a Distinguished Scientist at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory where his research involves advance reactor design readiness. Previously he spent 31 years as a senior scientist with the NRC, leading key research efforts and providing authoritative advice to NRC management and staff in the areas of digital instrumentation and control, software reliability, emergency response, cyber security and numerous other technical areas. Prior to his work at the NRC, Dr. Arndt was a Professor at the U.S. Naval Academy. Additionally, Dr. Arndt serves as an Adjunct Professor of Nuclear Engineering at the University of Tennessee. In 2012 Dr. Arndt was named the Federal Engineer of the Year by the National Society of Professional Engineers, the first nuclear engineer to ever be awarded this honor. In 2020 Dr. Arndt was awarded the “NSPE Award” the highest honor given specifically to a professional engineer.
Dr. Arndt holds a BS in engineering physics and a MS and PhD in nuclear engineering all from The Ohio State University, where he was honored by the faculty of the College of Engineering in 2004 as a Distinguished Alumnus. Dr. Arndt also holds a MS in reliability engineering from the University of Maryland. Dr. Arndt is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the American Nuclear Society (ANS), the Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the American Society for Quality (ASQ) and the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE).
Dr. Arndt is a registered professional engineer in Tennessee and Maryland and was appointed by the Governor of Maryland in 2006 to the Maryland Board for Professional Engineers, where he served for fifteen years (Three years as Chairman). He has served in leadership roles in a number of professional societies especially ANS. He has served as the ANS Treasurer and as a member of its Board of Directors. In June of 2022, he became the 68th President of ANS.
Read Nuclear News from July 2022 for more on Steven Arndt.
