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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
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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Feb 2025
Jul 2024
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Nuclear Science and Engineering
March 2025
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
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.
VIEW RECIPIENTSSUBMIT NOMINATION
Nomination Deadline
August 1
Presented at the
Winter Conference (odd years)ANS CONTE (even years)
The Robert L. Long Training Excellence Award recognizes an individual or group who has demonstrated sustained excellence in nuclear training. The award is given to an individual, or group of individuals that work as a team, who currently work in the field of nuclear training and education, and is intended to recognize outstanding, innovative, unique and cost-effective contributions to the field.
The award consists of an engraved plaque. The award(s) will be presented at the ANS Winter Conference on even years. On the odd years, the award will be recognized at the ANS Winter Conference but formally presented at the ANS Conference on Nuclear Training and Education (CONTE).
Current practitioners in International and U.S. Commercial, government/contractor, university, and union nuclear training and education fields are eligible for nomination.
Nominations must be made by ANS members. Self-nomination is prohibited. Nominees need not be members of the Society but shall be individuals who are or have been active in nuclear training.
This award was established by the Education, Training and Workforce Development Division in 1993 as the Training Excellence Award and renamed the Robert L. Long Training Excellence Award in 2010 to memorialize Dr. Long’s legacy. Dr. Long was an ANS past president, internationally recognized nuclear scientist, utility executive and highly respected member of the global nuclear energy community. Dr. Long was regarded as an expert in nuclear training and education and a proponent of the link between training/education and the safe operation of nuclear facilities.
Nominations of worthy candidates for the award are solicited by ANS and the Education, Training and Workforce Development Division (ETWDD). The selection of the recipient is made by the ETWDD Honors and Awards Committee who forwards the selection to the ETWDD Executive Committee for approval. The ANS Honors and Awards Committee are available for consultation and review as appropriate.
Nominations must include the completed nomination form accompanied by the following supporting documents:
Nomination packages must be of sufficient detail to fully inform the selection committee of the nominee’s qualification for the award. Nominations can be resubmitted up to two times after the initial submittal. Nominations are only resubmitted if the nominator sends an addendum updating the original nomination or sends a letter requesting that their candidate be reentered on the next ballot.
The award need not be given in periods when qualified candidates are not submitted. Multiple awards are allowed in a year when more than one exceptional candidate is submitted.
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