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Division Spotlight
Operations & Power
Members focus on the dissemination of knowledge and information in the area of power reactors with particular application to the production of electric power and process heat. The division sponsors meetings on the coverage of applied nuclear science and engineering as related to power plants, non-power reactors, and other nuclear facilities. It encourages and assists with the dissemination of knowledge pertinent to the safe and efficient operation of nuclear facilities through professional staff development, information exchange, and supporting the generation of viable solutions to current issues.
Meeting Spotlight
ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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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February 2025
Latest News
Colin Judge: Testing structural materials in Idaho’s newest hot cell facility
Idaho National Laboratory’s newest facility—the Sample Preparation Laboratory (SPL)—sits across the road from the Hot Fuel Examination Facility (HFEF), which started operating in 1975. SPL will host the first new hot cells at INL’s Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC) in 50 years, giving INL researchers and partners new flexibility to test the structural properties of irradiated materials fresh from the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) or from a partner’s facility.
Materials meant to withstand extreme conditions in fission or fusion power plants must be tested under similar conditions and pushed past their breaking points so performance and limitations can be understood and improved. Once irradiated, materials samples can be cut down to size in SPL and packaged for testing in other facilities at INL or other national laboratories, commercial labs, or universities. But they can also be subjected to extreme thermal or corrosive conditions and mechanical testing right in SPL, explains Colin Judge, who, as INL’s division director for nuclear materials performance, oversees SPL and other facilities at the MFC.
SPL won’t go “hot” until January 2026, but Judge spoke with NN staff writer Susan Gallier about its capabilities as his team was moving instruments into the new facility.
Dr. Harry Lawroski joined the American Nuclear Society (ANS) in 1958. Over a 10 year span he served on the ANS Board of Directors, as treasurer, vice president and president. He serves on both the Operations & Power and Fuel Cycle & Waste Management Divisions since his joining the Society. He also is a member of the ANS Idaho Section. Dr. Lawroski is an ANS Fellow.
While at Argonne National Laboratories (ANL) in Idaho, he made the transition from Petroleum Refining to Nuclear Energy by experiences on Experimental Breeder Reactor No. 1 (EBR-I), Borax V and Zero Power Reactor (ZPR) III before assisting in the assembling of the Transient Reactor Test Facility (TREAT) Reactor. Dr. Lawroski became a supervisor at TREAT, was the technical manager for the design and construction of the ZPR, and the associate director for operations at the EBR II Facility.
After leaving ANL, Dr. Lawroski joined Nuclear Services Corporation and became general manager (GM) of both the Environmental as wells as the Quality Assurance Divisions. He left to become the GM of the Technology Division and the Production Division at the chemical processing plant in Idaho, which was operated by Allied Chemical.
He became part of the advisory committee for the stabilization of the reactor involved in the Three Mile Island (TMI) accident. He analyzed the information and prepared the “Report on Transport of Radioactivity from the TMI2 to the Environs” for the President’s Commission on the Accident at TMI.
Dr. Lawroski spent 17 years consulting for utility nuclear facilities on operations, water processing, waste management, and reactor safety committees. He also consulted for the Edison Electric Institute, the Electric Power Research Institute and the U.S. Army and other energy clients.
As a member of ANS, Dr. Lawroski participated in the 1978 visit to the People’s Republic of China. He gave lectures on reactor operations and nuclear fuel reprocessing. In 1980, he led an ANS team of 30 nuclear leaders to China and signed the ANS-PRC Nuclear Society. At the June 1981 ANS meeting, Dr. Lawroski participated on ABC’s NIGHTLINE for the discussion of the destruction of the Iraq Osirak reactor by the Israel Air Force.
Dr. Lawroski received his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at Pennsylvania State University. He holds two patents in petroleum refining which are held by Standard Oil of New Jersey.
Since his retirement in 1996, Dr. Lawroski has volunteered in a number of community organizations and received several awards for his efforts.
Read Nuclear News from July 1981 for more on Harry Lawroski.
Last modified November 20, 2023, 4:04pm CST
