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Division Spotlight
Fusion Energy
This division promotes the development and timely introduction of fusion energy as a sustainable energy source with favorable economic, environmental, and safety attributes. The division cooperates with other organizations on common issues of multidisciplinary fusion science and technology, conducts professional meetings, and disseminates technical information in support of these goals. Members focus on the assessment and resolution of critical developmental issues for practical fusion energy applications.
Meeting Spotlight
Conference on Nuclear Training and Education: A Biennial International Forum (CONTE 2025)
February 3–6, 2025
Amelia Island, FL|Omni Amelia Island Resort
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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Nuclear Science and Engineering
February 2025
Nuclear Technology
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A series of firsts delivers new Plant Vogtle units
Southern Nuclear was first when no one wanted to be.
The nuclear subsidiary of the century-old utility Southern Company, based in Atlanta, Ga., joined a pack of nuclear companies in the early 2000s—during what was then dubbed a “nuclear renaissance”—bullish on plans for new large nuclear facilities and adding thousands of new carbon-free megawatts to the grid.
In 2008, Southern Nuclear applied for a combined construction and operating license (COL), positioning the company to receive the first such license from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2012. Also in 2008, Southern became the first U.S. company to sign an engineering, procurement, and construction contract for a Generation III+ reactor. Southern chose Westinghouse’s AP1000 pressurized water reactor, which was certified by the NRC in December 2011.
Fast forward a dozen years—which saw dozens of setbacks and hundreds of successes—and Southern Nuclear and its stakeholders celebrated the completion of Vogtle Units 3 and 4: the first new commercial nuclear power construction project completed in the U.S. in more than 30 years.
Dr. Clarke Williams was the 9th president of the American Nuclear Society and a charter member.
Dr. Williams was born on December 18, 1903. He was an expert in neutron physics, gaseous diffusion and related fields contributed to the development of the atomic bomb.
He began his career working for the Duke Price Power Company in Quebec and the New York Central Railroad before joining Columbia University as an assistant in the physics department in 1926. In 1930 he joined the faculty of the College of the City of New York, leaving as an assistant professor in 1949.
Dr. Williams joined Brookhaven National Laboratory as senior physicist in 1946, after five years of work at Columbia University on a method of separating the U-235 isotope by gaseous diffusion, a step in the development of the atomic bomb. The project eventually became a part of the Manhattan Project, where Dr. Williams was a leader in the construction of a pilot plant. He was chairman of Brookhaven’s nuclear engineering department from 1952 until he was named deputy director in 1962. He was deputy director of the Brookhaven Laboratory from 1962 to 1967, when he was named deputy director emeritus.
In 1967, he became research administrator of the newly formed Regional Marine Resources Council of the NassauSuffolk Planning Board, and later served the council as a consultant.
Dr. Williams, received an bachelor’s degree from Williams College in 1922, a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1924, and a doctorate in physics from Columbia University in 1935.
Dr. Clarke Williams passed away on March 15, 1983.
Last modified January 20, 2021, 6:30am CST
