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
Aug 2026
Jan 2026
2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
September 2026
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
August 2026
Latest News
The transformation of the NRC: 50 years of commissioners
The dust is beginning to settle following the whirlwind of changes at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission over the past year, and 2025 ultimately may be viewed as a transformative year, as well as the year the NRC celebrated its golden anniversary. The 12 months of that milestone year brought more change to the agency in its composition, its mandate, and its relationship to the executive branch than any comparable period in the preceding four decades.
Now at 51 years and counting, the NRC is working with a full commission and issuing new rulemakings to both regulate and support the next round of nuclear deployments. With the turbulence of 2025 still fresh in our minds, Nuclear News decided it was a good time to revisit the professional backgrounds of all 42 NRC commissioners who have served over the agency’s 50-year history to see how the composition of the commission has evolved over time.
Sidney Siegel was the President of the American Nuclear Society in 1966. He originally helped organize the American Nuclear Society to promote research and engineering in nuclear technology, and was a charter member of the Society. In addition to serving as President, he also served on the ANS board for many years.
Siegel was born on January 10, 1912. He began his career at Westinghouse Electric Co. in 1938, doing early research on the effect of radiation on solids. In 1943, he became manager of magnetic research at Westinghouse. During World War II, he helped develop torpedo triggering devices and airborne radar systems, and later went to Oak Ridge to work on nuclear reactor development. At Oak Ridge, he conducted research on the first plutonium production reactors for the Manhattan Project. In 1948, he returned to the newly formed Westinghouse Atomic Power Division, where he directed physics-related activities for naval reactor development.
Siegel joined North American Aviation in 1950. Shortly after that, he served as vice president and technical director of the power systems division at Atomics International, where he directed the AEC-sponsored development of sodium- and organic-cooled power reactors to power communications satellites and other space vehicles.
He left there in 1972 to return to Oak Ridge as a deputy associate director for biomedical and environmental sciences. There, he oversaw National Science Foundation-funded research and was also responsible for AEC regulatory work on the preparation of environmental impact statements for proposed nuclear power plants. He left that position in 1975.
In addition to these positions, at various times, he was a lecturer at the University of Pittsburgh, a research associate at the California Institute of Technology, and an American representative to the Atoms for Peace Conference.
Siegel earned bachelor’s degrees in physics and mathematics in 1932, and a doctorate degree in physics in 1936 from Columbia University. He held five patents on solid-state instruments and nuclear power devices and was a fellow of the American Physical Society.
Sidney Siegel passed away on March 16, 2001.
